The Cold Kiss
by BountyKress
Summary: After five years with Sakura no longer being his student after his second bell test, Kakashi quickly realizes she has become a beautiful woman & a powerful kunoichi. But their history as an ex-sensei & an ex-student keep Kakashi & Sakura from admitting the intensifying feelings between them. Will a freezing & deadly mission finally bring their feelings to light? (Pairing: Kakasaku)
1. Autumn Festival

**Disclaimer:** Masashi Kishimoto is the rightful owner to the original Naruto series and characters in it; I do not own the series or its characters in any way.

**Warning:** This story is rated M for a reason for those under the legal age of 18.

This is my very first Kakasaku fanfiction I have written. It is set in the Shippuden age of Naruto, obviously. Please R&amp;R! (Rate and Review for those who don't know!) The story will switch back and forth between the character's views, and there will be multiple chapters!

~Enjoy! :)~

After five years with Sakura no longer being his student after his second bell test, Kakashi quickly realizes she has become a beautiful woman and a powerful kunoichi. But their history as an ex-sensei and an ex-student keep Kakashi and Sakura from admitting the intensifying feelings between them. Will a freezing and deadly mission finally bring their feelings to light?

* * *

**CHAPTER ONE: Autumn Festival**

* * *

The wind chimes rang softly as they swayed gently in the chilling autumn breeze. Voices and cheerful laughter could be heard from the people below him. Kakashi rubbed his gloved hands up and down his arms, attempting to provide a little more warmth. He could already see his breath, swirling in front of him like smoke when he exhaled, even though it was still too early for winter. Maybe it would come sooner than usual this year, he thought with a famous, indifferent, Kakashi-shrug. It was already dark outside, after all.

He sat, crouched on top of one of the festival food shops, preferring the solitude of the quiet, red-tiled roof than the bustling, noisy crowd below. Despite the chill in the air, everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves and went about their activities as if they didn't have a care in the world other than to have fun.

Kakashi sighed, resting his masked face in the palm of his hand. He didn't hate festivals, but he wasn't particularly fond of them either. If Gai ever caught him at a celebration, such as a festival, the rest of the night would consist of endless, boring contests and games against him, which Kakashi always won, no matter how childish or ridiculous they got. While he enjoyed being challenged, he just wanted to enjoy the sights. And, maybe, even have a light, enjoyable conversation with a woman who would join him if he invited her. He knew plenty of women who would give anything to wear a yukata for him and cling on to his arm for a night like that. The realization of that only made the expression on his face turn sour.

No. He wouldn't take just anyone with him. He'd want someone who could hold an intelligent conversation with him. Someone who had class, but wasn't too flashy. Someone who, he hoped, held respect for him as an equal and could hold her own. He'd want someone who wouldn't take advantage of his kindness or generosity. Someone who... for instance, had pink hair.

The flash of cotton candy hair appeared in the corner of his eye. She stepped out from behind the curtain of one of the little shops lining the road, looking around as if trying to find someone among the crowd. Apparently she wasn't having any luck, because a sassy pout was quickly formed on her usually calm face.

Kakashi chuckled at the familiar, disgruntled expression of his ex-student. She probably didn't realize it, but she looked so cute when she made that face that Kakashi couldn't help but tease her at times. Not that doing so ever improved her mood, though, he thought to himself with a sly smile.

She hesitantly walked over to a bench not too far from below him and sat down, folding her slender hands onto her slightly shivering lap, trying to casually look around without looking lost. She wasn't doing a very good job.

'_I guess I'm not the only one who is affected by the weather tonight,_' he realized. He stood from his former position on the rooftop and rubbed his hands together before shoving them in his jacket pockets.

He hadn't donned on his usual green Jounin Vest that night, since it was the night of the festival. But he had, thankfully, brought a light, charcoal gray jacket and a red scarf to keep him warm as a replacement. He had forgone his ninja headband as well, leaving his scarred eye exposed, though he kept it closed at all times. Other than that, he wore the same black, long-sleeve Jounin shirt, mask, pants, and sandals.

Despite all this, he still was feeling slightly cold. He could only imagine what cotton-candy hair below was bearing against, wearing only a yukata and the traditional zori sandals that came with it.

He hopped down from the building, landing softly behind her. She didn't appear to have heard him over the noise from all the lively people. She kept looking straight ahead while Kakashi stared at her back, creeping up from behind her ever so slowly and silently...

* * *

Sakura tried to suppress another shiver as she sat impatiently on the small wooden bench. With every breath she took, she could see the vapor form in the frosty air before her. She sighed unhappily. Winter was her least favorite season. She prayed it wasn't going to come early this year...

And where on earth had Ino run off to?! That pig had wanted to stop at almost every sweets shop to see if they had her favorite treat, whatever it was. She no longer remembered what they were even looking for.

They hadn't been successful so far, and Sakura just wanted to go and do other things besides hunt for Ino's favorite festivity treat. She'd no sooner gone into another rejected shop on their checklist before Ino had stormed off again, this time leaving Sakura behind in a sea of people.

'_That selfish, sweet-toothed bitch,_' Sakura crossed her arms angrily. It would take hours just to find each other again, and she didn't want to just sit and wait around for Ino. She wanted to experience everything fun before the festival came to a close.

Suddenly, a hand shot out from the shadows behind her and covered her mouth, cutting off any sounds or screams of protest. The attacker's other hand grabbed her wrists and held them behind her back, preventing her from being able to fight back in any way. Already furious about how bad the night was already going for her, Sakura squirmed and kicked with all her might, and even attempted to bite at the enemy who was dragging her back into a dark alley behind the shops. It was no use, though. Whoever this stranger was, he knew how to really restrain his victims well. That thought sent a shiver which was unrelated to the cold down Sakura's spine.

She was thrown lightly against a wall, finally being released from the man in the shadows. She was about to throw a chakra-filled punch at the assaulter when a light chuckle stopped her from taking a single step. She looked up into the amused, eye-crinkled smile of a man she knew well, not sharing his humor in the joke in the slightest.

"I didn't know you were so easy to kidnap in a public place, Sakura_-chan_. You should know better than to be carried off so easily during such a big, open event in your own village."

"And _you_ should know not to prank me like that of all people, Kakashi_-sensei_," she said venomously, giving him her sweetest, fake smile she had.

With a swift kick to the gut, he toppled over, clutching his stomach tightly and groaning lightly in unexpected pain.

* * *

He should have expected it. He should have anticipated the violent aggression she would lash out at him once he stopped his little joke. But he hadn't, and now he was paying the price for it.

'_That's going to leave one ugly bruise,_' he thought, looking down at his poor, abused stomach. He slowly stood back up, brushing the dirt off of him from where Sakura's zori sandals had bashed him. Once he looked back up, he noticed she still wasn't happy about the little joke he'd pulled. He sighed.

'_Great, she must be having some weird thoughts right now... about how it could have been a kidnapper, or even worse, a rapist of some sort..._' he thought as he rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably.

"I do feel a little bad about scaring you, Sakura," he began. "That was a little overdone, I'll admit. Dragging you into this back alley was a little much and I shouldn't have gone and done it."

"'A little much?!'" She began to shout at him. He flinched at the unwelcome outburst.

"Will you forgive me, please?" He stood next to her now, looking down at her in the sweetest, softest way he could. She merely frowned up at him.

"You never actually said sorry, sensei..."

Kakashi groaned. Was she ever going to drop the sensei after his name? He hadn't been her teacher in over five years, ever since his second bells test with her and Naruto. And he had regrettably lost against them in a rather pathetic way.

"I'm sorry, Sakura_-chan"_ he emphasized on the last word. Whenever she called him sensei, he would call her the name he used when she was still just a little Genin. She didn't appreciate it when he did that to her. Maybe that would teach her to drop the old name. "Now will you forgive me?"

She tapped her coral-painted nails on her glossy, pink lips as if thinking deeply about it. Kakashi's eyes were instantly drawn to them, and his throat had dried up for some odd reason he couldn't explain. Sakura must have noticed him staring because she coughed in annoyance to grab his attention once more.

"If you've finished ogling, I've decided to forgive you and not hold it against you... on three conditions."

"You're kidding, right?" '_All for some joke?_' he thought incredulously. The look she sent him shut him up at once.

"I'm serious. Now, since Ino ditched me in the crowd, and nobody can find anyone in this fucking huge festival-"

"Language, Sakura."

"I'm not a child, Kakashi. I'm twenty two, and I will speak how I want. Now, since I can't find Ino, my first condition is for you to take her place."

"Take her place as in, be your date?" He asked.

Sakura blushed becomingly, turning her face away as if looking anywhere but at him. He smiled, watching her squirm under his intense gaze.

"You could say that, since neither of us had dates for the festival originally. Now, my second condition; with you as my date, I expect you to not ruin the rest of the night, and try to make it as fun for me as possible."

"Can do," Kakashi nodded once. "And your third?"

Sakura smiled excitedly. "My third condition is you take me to the fireworks display at the end of the night!"

(~)

Kakashi didn't mind owing her three conditions, even if it was a little absurd to do so over one silly prank. But, he wasn't going to complain. He got a date, and a very beautiful and intelligent one at that, and he was going to be able to enjoy the sights of the festival without being bothered by constant challenges and games. He was more than fine with this outcome.

And speaking of fine, he found his eyes wandering over to his right side so constantly that he wondered if she had noticed him staring at her by now. He couldn't help it, the navy blue yukata she wore, which also had pink sakura flowers patterned throughout the fabric, made her look stunning. With it, she wore a complimentary red sash around her waist. Her hair was pinned up behind her head, and she had crimson beads in random strands of hair throughout the messy bun. Her emerald eyes glowed under the soft lantern light on the road, hooded by thick, black eyelashes. His eyes slowly drew down to her lips once more. They sparkled and shone a bright, neon salmon pink, and were just begging to be kissed.

Kakashi froze mid-stride. He aggressively slapped himself mentally, over and over again, closing his eyes and shaking his head back and forth. No. No. No. No. No. No. Those thoughts were heading somewhere they absolutely shouldn't. He may be a man, and it may have been completely fine to admire that Sakura had indeed become a beautiful woman, but thinking of doing certain things to her was crossing the line. He shoved his hands in his pants pockets and clenched his fists tightly, trying to think of anything to distract him.

He noticed Sakura had stopped walking a few feet ahead of him, and was watching him with a concerned look on her face. He quickly caught up to her, and held his arm out for her to take.

She looked uncertain at first, then realized what he was trying to do and smiled up at him angelically. His mouth went dry again.

"Thank you, Kakashi. I didn't realize you could be a gentleman," she said in a way that sounded as more of a surprise than an insult.

"I'm full of surprises, I guess. Either that, or maybe you just don't know me as well as you thought you did."

"I wouldn't be surprised," Sakura admitted, and the two began walking once again, passing many different stands and venders. "You were always surrounded with mystery to everyone, you know."

"You find me mysterious?" He grinned down at her.

"Well, I'm not exactly an exception to the 'everyone' part I mentioned earlier, you know. But it's not a bad thing that you are."

"Ah, so you find my being mysterious attractive then..."

"Don't go twisting my words for your own ego boost, you pervert," she jabbed him in the ribs, smiling. "I merely said it was a good thing."

"Yep, that's me; Kakashi the forever pervert and big-ego shinobi."

"Just shut up and take me to the fried calamari shop over there," she pointed in a random direction, trying her best not to laugh out loud. He rolled his eyes dramatically before suddenly taking her hand in his and leading her through the crowd. She blushed at the sudden contact, feeling how hot his hands were on hers even through the metal-plated gloves he wore. She held on tightly, letting him lead them to wherever he was taking them.

* * *

Sakura munched silently on the candied apple Kakashi had bought for her. She was surprised at how much fun she was actually having with her old sensei. She had assumed festivals weren't his thing, since she had never really seen him at one before. He had told her it was because Guy-sensei had always challenged him to a super-speed contest of games, and on who could win them all the fastest.

Because of that, he was always moving at lightning speed to beat Guy's challenge and never really had time to just enjoy the festival, let alone stop and talk to anyone he knew. She felt kind of bad for him, but he seemed to be enjoying the time he was spending with her just as much as she was enjoying spending time with him. She realized, with a bit of a shock, that she was probably having a better time with him than she would have if Ino hadn't ditched her in the first place.

She shivered slightly, rubbing her hands together to keep them warm. It didn't help much, since they were already icy cold. The temperature had dropped again within the past couple of hours, during which Kakashi and her had spent playing games as well as buying and trying each other's favorite festival foods. Those few hours had been filled with smiles, laughter, and way more enjoyable conversation than she had ever had with a date, let alone with her sensei. Sakura was also happy to find that Kakashi had enjoyed almost every festival food she liked, other than a few sweets she had made him try here and there.

She shivered again, a little more noticeably this time. Kakashi, who was sitting next to her on a bench, looked at her with concern.

"I'm alright," her voice wavered slightly as she said it. "It's just a little chilly, but it's almost time for the fireworks display, and then we can go home and warm up."

She looked over at him, reddening immediately at his smoldering, intense, one-eyed gaze. Strange butterflies fluttered in her stomach, and she grew unnervingly warm in funny places. Her eyes began to glaze over just from the way he was staring at her. Then, she thought back over what she had said and realized he was messing with her. Surprisingly, she was a little disappointed at that.

"I meant you can go home and get warmed up and I'll go to _my_ home and try to warm up. Don't mess with me, Kakashi," she frowned at him. He grinned at her and chuckled.

"Sorry," he chuckled again. "I guess I really am a pervert," he teased.

"Everyone knows that already. Don't boast about it as if it's something to be proud of, idiot."

"Ouch. I think you managed to bruise my big ego there a little," he said with sarcasm so thick it was practically seen dripping off of his words. She rolled her eyes and failed to hide the smile that made its way into her eyes.

"We should probably get moving," she said, standing from the bench and finishing the last bite of her candied apple. "They'll start soon, and we don't want to get a bad seat."

She began to walk away, but was stopped when Kakashi quickly grabbed her wrist and spun her around into his chest. She was pressed up against him, and he was staring down at her with that gaze again. Her heart pounded loudly in her chest, and she could feel heat scorch the skin on her face. She must be as red as a tomato! What was he doing?!

"K-Kakashi...?" She managed to choke out in barely a whisper. She noticed a few people stop and stared at the interaction. He leaned down until his face was only a few inches away from hers. Her breath hitched.

Then, suddenly, his thumb wiped away at the corner of her mouth and he had already released her from his hold. He walked ahead of a frozen Sakura so that his back was turned to her before he looked over his shoulder.

"You had a little caramel on the corner of your mouth," he explained, showing her the piece pf caramel on his thumb. Before she could respond, he turned away from her and pulled down his mask with lightning speed. Then he slipped it back on just as fast and turned to face her once again. "Thanks for letting me have a little taste, it was actually quite delicious."

He grinned at her, and Sakura knew he was messing with her again. Her face had only grown redder at the realization that Kakashi had just indirectly licked off the piece of caramel that had been on the corner of her mouth, even if he was only teasing. She balled her fists and looked down at the ground in complete embarrassment with her face still burning. She began to storm off ahead of Kakashi, keeping her eyes low so she wouldn't have to look at him.

"Get moving you ass, or I _will_ leave you behind," she grumbled as she passed him. From a ways back, she could hear Kakashi's amused peal of laughter echo after her.

* * *

She had beaten him to the grass-covered hillside, but only because he had let her, he told himself after he had arrived there.

After she had stormed off, Kakashi had decided it would be wise to give her some space to cool off, especially after such a daring stunt. He still didn't know why he had done it. That wasn't something friends usually did to each other as normal teasing, and he had made her turn a shade of crimson he didn't think was possible on a person before. He had unintentionally flirted with her. So, he'd decided to stay back a few feet or more, waiting until she was back to normal before he approached her.

The azure night sky was alight with stars, and a full moon shone a bit a ways above the Hokage face mountain. Kakashi stood on the grass hillside and stared up at it all for a while in deep thought, before a pair of ice-cold hands joined his at his sides. He looked down in surprise, finding his favorite, pink-haired kunoichi looking up at him in an odd way.

"Kakashi?" she said softly.

"Hm?"

"Is this where you want to sit for the fireworks?"

"No. Come with me," he said, not letting go of her hands as he led her a few yards up the hillside.

There were tall trees lining the top of the hill, where the grass was kept dry under the canopy of the tree tops. Kakashi sat and leaned against the trunk of one of the aspens, beckoning Sakura to join him. She hesitated.

"It's just, I don't want to ruin this yukata by sitting on the grass. I might stain it..." she explained. Kakashi gave her a look, and then she quickly added "Only because it belongs to Tenten! I told her I'd take good care of it since she was kind enough to lend it to me."

"I see. Guess it can't be helped then."

Before she could ask, Kakashi shrugged out of his jacket and let it slip onto the grass next to him.

"Oh no, you don't have to do that," Sakura quickly stopped him. "I don't want to sit on your jacket and get it dirty either."

"I'm not having you sit on it. Just come here for a second," he told her. Puzzled, she did as he asked and found herself being scooped into his arms before being seated comfortably on his lap.

He was sure she was pinking again at the suddenness of his actions, but he wasn't going to have her standing during the entire show. What kind of gentleman would that make him?

He grabbed his jacket and told her to lift up her arms. Since he was behind her, she couldn't see what he was doing, so she did as he said with a little reluctance. He slipped her arms into the sleeves of his jacket and wrapped his arms around her tightly to keep her from trying to take it off.

"Wait, won't you be cold without it on?" She asked, trying to find an excuse for him not to have him give up his jacket.

"I've got another shirt on under my Jounin one, I'll be completely fine."

"But what if you start to get cold?"

He pulled Sakura closer to him, having her lean back against his chest before he gently settled his hands on her lap. "Then I have you to keep me warm, don't I?"

She turned away from him again, probably in embarrassment, he guessed. Sakura was kind of different when she was like this and not in her usual Shinobi clothing. She blushed a lot more, and she actually acted like quite the shy but lovely feminine beauty most guys dreamt of. It was refreshing to see this side of her. He realized he enjoyed it quite a lot.

Once Sakura stopped protesting and actually zipped the jacket up so it fastened around her, Kakashi stopped restraining her and rested his chin comfortably on her shoulder.

More and more people began to gather onto the same hillside, laying down blankets and jackets to sit on with their loved ones. Eventually, the hill was alive with excited whispers and chatter as they all waited for the long anticipated fireworks show. Kakashi and Sakura still had the best view from the top of the hill, and weren't crowded at all like the mass of people farther down the hill from them. They had their own little, secluded spot for themselves.

Sakura began to relax considerably more after sitting on his lap for a while, only once he had reassured her he was quite comfortable and she wasn't crushing him in the slightest, of course. Why were women always self-conscious of their weight like that? If she hadn't been light enough to sit on his lap, he wouldn't have ever invited her to do so, no matter how ungentlemanly it would have been of him.

She leaned her head back on his shoulder, smiling up at the starlit sky with her eyes gently closed. He had subconsciously placed his warm hands over her icy ones to try to keep them warm, holding them against her stomach. Sakura sighed at the nice feeling, welcoming it as she let herself soak in the feeling of leaning against Kakashi's warm body.

He wrapped his arms around her a little tighter, enjoying how perfect she fit against his body. He hadn't felt so at peace and comfortable with someone in a very long time. He turned his face into the side of her neck and inhaled deeply, taking in how sweet she smelled. Normally, he would keep himself in check from doing something so silly, but it was late into the night, they were alone, and he was relaxed despite being hyperaware of his close proximity to her. He made a note to himself to go to festivals more often.

"Saaakuraaa!" A shrill voice suddenly called out from the entrance of the hillside park. Kakashi and Sakura immediately lifted their heads and sat up stiffly. They watched as Ino made her way over to them with Shikamaru, Choji, and Hinata.

Sakura started to stand up, and Kakashi wasn't going to let her get embarrassed just from her friend seeing her with him, so he didn't stop her. To his surprise, she actually stopped halfway before sitting back down on his lap, prompting him to hold her hands again. He looked at her, but she merely kept her eyes straight ahead on Ino.

Kakashi found it to be curious behavior for Sakura, but didn't bother to ask.

"Sakura-chan! I've been looking all over for you- Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't realize you had found a date," she said slyly, eyeing Kakashi with a devilish look. Kakashi merely smiled and nodded once in her direction.

"Hello Ino, Shika, Choji. You too Hinata," he greeted with a small hand wave before resting his hand on top of Sakura's again. He saw that Ino noticed their hands immediately, giving Sakura a silent questioning look. Kakashi didn't know if Sakura gave her an answering one, since his view of her wasn't the same as Ino's.

"Hey there Kakashi-sensei, Sakura-chan." Shikamaru waved at them.

"Are you guys here for the fireworks show, too?" Hinata asked barely above a whisper. Sakura had to crane her neck to be able to make out what she had said. Kakashi on the other hand had no problem hearing her with his sharpened senses.

"Yes, we are," Sakura told her with a smile. "And I think they're going to start soon."

"Oooh! Mind if we join you guys?" Ino asked, already sitting herself next to Kakashi. Choji and the others followed Ino's lead and sat beside her.

"Suit yourself," Sakura muttered under her breath. Kakashi chuckled, feeling flattered that she had preferred to spend time alone with him than this group.

"Eh? What was that, forehead? I couldn't quite hear ya," Ino gave her childhood friend an annoyed smile, cupping her ear as if to tell her to speak up. Sakura's eye twitched before returning the same, irritated smirk.

"Shut up Ino-pig, I didn't say anything, you deaf cow." She turned her chin up at Ino before slumping back against Kakashi. He sighed and wrapped his arms around her waist again, ignoring the odd stares he recieved from his ex-student's comrades at his actions.

Suddenly, bright, colorful balls of light erupted in the sky, making everyone turn and jump at the thunderous explosion. Many of them blasted spontaneously into a shower of sparks, and then faded gradually into the shape of a weeping willow. Those had always been Kakashi's favorite, though he had no idea why.

The longer the show went on, the more spectacular the fireworks and colors became. Green, red, blue, gold, purple, silver, pink; the list of colors went on and on. Sakura squeezed Kakashi's hand excitedly when fireworks in the shape of pink Sakura flowers blew up in the midnight sky. He had nodded and smiled when she turned to look at him and see if he had seen them.

Without him realizing it, more and more familiar faces had joined their little group at the top of the hill. Kakashi looked around and recognized the faces of Guy and his team, Kurenai and her team, and Naruto, who had seated himself next to Hinata. Poor girl looked like she was going to faint any second. Even Gaara and the sand siblings were there. He had been so busy watching the fireworks himself as well as the light of pure excitement on Sakura's face that he hadn't noticed the size of the group had grown. Sakura didn't seem to notice either, and she leaned back even more into Kakashi's chest, once again resting her head against his shoulder and sighing happily. Kakashi looked back up into the sky, watching the fireworks grow steadily bigger and more frequent.

"Here comes the grand finale," he heard Choji whisper to everyone. Not long after that, cheering erupted from the hillside as the finale of the fireworks display began to light up the sky above the Hokage Mountain. Firework after firework after firework blew up with less than a second between each explosion. Everyone 'oohed' and 'awed' at the fantastic show until finally, the last and biggest firework erupted into a cloud of red sparks. It was the shape of the symbol of the Leaf Village, and everyone cheered after the crimson sparks finally faded into the darkness of the night.

Kakashi was torn between getting up and leaving immediately or doing something that may not be welcomed by Sakura and, may even be regretted by him later. He decided to chance it before everyone's eyes adjusted to the darkness.

He suddenly turned to Sakura under the cover of the night, holding up her hand to his now unmasked lips before kissing it. He heard her gasp in surprise before he smiled warmly at her and whispered into her ear, "Happy last day of autumn, Sakura."

* * *

**Author's Notes! :)**

I will get the next chapters up as soon as I can! Go ahead and leave a review! Thanks for reading! Love you all! :B

BountyKress


	2. Dreading and Bleeding

**Disclaimer:** Masashi Kishimoto is the rightful owner to the original Naruto series and characters in it; I do not own the series or its characters in any way.

**Warning:** This story is rated M for a reason for those under the legal age of 18.

Fun fact: Cover of this story is done by me!

And thank you **Poppy Grave Dreams **and **wandwaving** for the reviews! That made me so happy! :D

Please **R&amp;R**! It would help me a lot!

~Enjoy! :)~

Ever since the autumn festival, Kakashi was being sent out on countless missions. This left a very confused and frustrated Sakura, alone, to dwell on the new, chaotic feelings that were now constantly invading her thoughts.

Was she losing her mind? Or was something else really going on here? Perhaps she was over-thinking things, like usual.

She sighed. She needed to talk to him.

* * *

**CHAPTER TWO: Dreading and Bleeding**

* * *

The world all around them was fuzzy and white, like they were in a large, fluffy cloud. Kakashi roughly pulled her against him, looking deeply into her forest green eyes with an expression that said more than a thousand words. Her heart fluttered like crazy, and her breath caught when she realized he was leaning closer and closer, until he was only an inch away from her lips. Her face grew hot from the sudden proximity, and she started to grow light-headed. His dark, mismatched eyes pierced hers, and suddenly he was whispering hotly into her ear.

"Sakura..." he breathed huskily, lustfully. He gently cupped her cheek with his big, warm hand.

She bit back a small groan that threatened to escape from her now parted lips.

"Sakura..." he said again, a little more firmly. "You're going to miss your afternoon shift."

"Hmm?" She sighed dreamily. "It's okay, there's plenty of time. Just don't leave yet, okay?"

"Sakura? What are you talking about?" Kakashi's deep voice suddenly increased in pitch ten times.

'_That's odd._' Sakura thought, slightly annoyed, and with her eyes half-hooded. '_He suddenly sounded a whole lot like Ino. Damn bitch, stay outta this._'

"Sakura, seriously! You need to get going before Tsunade cooks your hide for daydreaming on shift!"

'_Daydreaming...?_' Sakura blinked a few times in confusion. And suddenly, she was back in the hospital, sitting at a desk near the front of the office on the second floor. She blinked again, still slightly confused, before turning towards Ino, who stood before her with her arms crossed. The weird look on her face was making Sakura slightly uncomfortable.

"Oh, hey Ino."

"Don't say it like you just got fired or something!" Ino sighed in exasperation. "I know it's been a slow day today, but you're not the only one who's bored. Is that how you greet a good friend?"

"Fine. Hey, Ino," Sakura repeated a little more dryly. Ino rolled her eyes towards the ceiling.

"You're impossible. Sheesh! And since when are you one to space out at work?"

"Huh?" Sakura asked, pretending to not be sure of what she meant. "What do you mean?"

"When I came down from a visit on the third floor," Ino explained. "I saw you here at the desk. But you were totally zoned out and daydreaming or something when I tried talking to you. I've never known you to daydream about anything, except... Sasuke," Ino smirked, already jumping to conclusions as she said it all out loud. Sakura instantly stiffened and bit back a few colorful words she would have liked to say about that idiot Uchiha.

"I wasn't daydreaming about anyone," she lied. "And especially not about _that_ prick."

Well, at least that part was the truth.

It had already been over three weeks since that day at the festival. For some unknown and extremely frustrating reason, Sakura had caught herself thinking about it, and _him_, a lot during that time. At some point, the harmless thinking and remembering had turned into daydreaming that got so bad she would completely forget her surroundings, just as Ino had caught her doing moments earlier. Even Sakura didn't understand why she was thinking about her ex-sensei so much. He had hardly even been in the village since then, due to a sudden series of constant missions he was needed on.

And that night at the festival, which felt more like a dream now than a memory, hadn't even been that amazing! Sure, she had had a lot of fun, and Kakashi had been a surprisingly good date and friend to her that night, and he had flirted with her... even if he hadn't really meant to, but that's all it was! A fun memory! So why was her subconscious coming up with awkward fantasies of him over something so small and insignificant?! Sakura hit her head against the counter, unhappy about this new problem that had wiggled its way into her normally modest life.

Ino watched Sakura carefully, as if assessing her behavior, and tapped her chin thoughtfully. Sakura sighed. She was about one-hundred percent sure Ino didn't believe her one bit about the daydreaming thing, but she was going to continue her bluff anyway.

"So, is there a reason why you're blushing?" Ino smirked, drumming her fingers on the desk.

"I'm not blushing," Sakura suddenly turned away from her.

"You totally are! You are so, totally hiding something! Does Sakura Haruno have a little crush?! Who's the lucky guy?!" Ino asked excitedly, switching instantly into her gossip mode.

"There is no guy! So please, stop making something out of nothing!"

Ino leaned back, sliding back off of the counter top. She sighed in disappointment, and suddenly the enthusiasm was wiped completely from her face.

"Fine, fine," she pouted. "Then why _were_ you so spaced out?" she asked. Sakura was still guarded, though. It wan't normal for Ino to relent so easily on a topic like that.

"I didn't sleep well last night, OK?" Sakura grumbled, standing from the chair she was previously sitting in. She snatched a hanging clipboard from its hook on the wall, tucking it snugly into her side. "I'm just out of it is all."

She began to walk towards the hallway to her left, ignoring the smug, knowing look on Ino's face as best as she could when she passed her. Before Sakura could escape down the corridor, however, she heard Ino call after her.

"I **WILL** find out who this mysterious guy is, Haruno! You'd better believe this conversation isn't over between us!"

Sakura groaned, her head hanging low in defeat. She knew it was too good to be true; to have thought Ino had dropped the subject for good.

(~)

Finally, it was the end of her shift. Sakura slid out of the white lab coat she was wearing and tossed it into a laundry hamper at the back of the lab. Not a whole lot had gone on that day, so Tsunade had suggested she go practice studying poisons and antidotes in the lab. Since Ino was merely a volunteer at the hospital and couldn't have access to the lab, Sakura had done her research all by herself. She had feared this would happen, since the last time she was left alone she had been daydreaming- uh, spacing out. She couldn't afford such unprofessionalism while working with substances as dangerous as poisons. But, luckily, was able to regain her focus at the start and had kept her full concentration on her work.

Once she reached the top of the stairs, she saw Ino had already grabbed her bag and jacket and left. Relief flooded through Sakura as she walked over to grab her own belongings before heading towards the side exit that only the employees used.

"Hold up, Sakura! I want to speak with you." Her familiar master's voice called from behind her. Sakura turned around and waited as the Lady Hokage approached her. Tsunade stared at her for a minute before speaking.

"Are you feeling unwell?"

"What? I mean, no, I'm perfectly fine, master." She responded, slightly puzzled as to what made her ask.

"Are you sure? Ino told me she's caught you spacing out a lot lately, and she said you told her you haven't been sleeping well lately."

'_Damn you, Ino-pig. The next time I see you I'm gonna-_'

"I'm fine, Tsunade-sama," she smiled reassuringly. "I just need to go home and get some rest."

Tsunade looked her up and down one more time before she smiled back.

"Don't push yourself. I can't have my best medic lose her focus in the middle of an operation, now can I?"

"No, ma'am!" Sakura stood straight at attention. It was habit she had formed during training she'd done with Tsunade years ago.

"Good. That's all I wanted to say." The Hokage nodded and turned to leave. "See you tomorrow, first thing in the morning."

"Yes, master!" Sakura called after her respectively before turning to leave as well. She caught the door before it closed behind her all the way though, then blurted out to Tsunade without thinking.

"Do you know when Kakashi-sensei will return?"

Tsunade stopped walking and peered over her shoulder, giving Sakura a curious look.

"I don't know. Maybe a week from now, maybe two? Why do you ask?"

"Um, no particular reason I guess."

"Hm."

"Well, goodnight, Tsunade-sama!" Sakura quickly bowed then rushed out the door before Tsunade even had time to reply. She stared in wonderment at the empty space Sakura had been standing at not two seconds ago.

'_That was a little odd_,' Tsunade thought to herself.

* * *

The moment Sakura stepped through her apartment door; she kicked off her shoes and tiredly dropped her belongings. It had started to rain a little outside, so she was freezing by the time she had gotten to her place. She dragged her feet as she headed to her bedroom, not bothering to turn on the lights in the kitchen or the living room.

Once at the end of the hall, she opened her bedroom door and flicked on the slight switch. A dull hum sounded once the light came to life, and Sakura squinted against it painfully. It had gotten dark and drizzly outside by the time she had gotten home, and her eyes needed a little time to adjust to the brightness. Finding her way across the room, she reached the bathroom door handle and twisted it. It clicked, and then she proceeded to push it open and turn on the lights. She needed to get out of her damp clothes.

And she desperately needed a good, hot soak.

After few, tiring minutes of struggling to strip out of her hospital attire, she was finally undressed. She grabbed the pile of wet clothes and tossed them onto the tile counter near the sink, before turning to the shower and turning the handle to 'hot'.

It took only ten seconds before the water finally heated up to an almost boiling temperature. Just what she needed.

Sakura stepped in and sighed blissfully, letting the scalding water soothe her stiff muscles. Slowly, she was warming up from being out in the freezing rain. She turned so her backside was towards the shower head and arched her back, jutting her naked chest out. She dipped her head back into the spray, closing her eyes and letting the water soak into her hair and scalp as she ran her fingers through her thick, pink locks.

Once she opened her eyes, she looked into the mirror that sat directly across the bathroom. Since the shower was encased with glass walls, she could admire her reflection from where she stood. Sakura looked down at her naked chest, frowning in disappointment. Why couldn't she have been endowed with bigger breasts, like Ino or Hinata? Those two were at least a 38C-cup, if not bigger, while she was only a 32C...

She grabbed her strawberry-scented shampoo bottle and squirted some of the pinkish liquid into her palm before proceeding to viciously scrub it into her scalp. She didn't want to dwell on her flaws she was already acutely aware of.

(~)

Slipping into a comfy, black sports-bra with some equally comfy, pink panties, Sakura ambled over to the lamp on her nightstand. She flicked the switch on before proceeding to shut off the main light in her bedroom. She still had a towel wrapped around her head from the shower with which she fluffed her hair a bit before she tossed the towel onto the chair by her desk. She plopped down on the bed covers, staring up at the ceiling in the dim light of her bedside lamp.

Her room was by no means luxurious, but it wasn't uncomfortably tiny either. She easily fit her queen-sized bed into the room, along with a nightstand, a desk and chair on the far wall, and a wardrobe and closet filled with her personal belongings and clothes. It was perfect, and still had a little room. The only reason she could afford this place was from taking at least three S-ranked missions a month, including whatever other missions she was assigned to go on.

It wasn't easy, but if being a ninja was easy in the first place, then a lot more people would be applying for the job, wouldn't they? Sakura smiled to herself at that, picturing a long line of citizens and farmers and travelers coming out of the Hokage tower to apply for ninja training. Not many got to be in the line of work she was in. It called for a dangerous yet thrilling variety of jobs to do. It was never the same mission, and you rarely got bored as a shinobi. And, since Sakura had been a Jounin ninja for over a year, she got even harder missions than what she used to be given. She definitely never got bored from it, but too many missions could exhaust you of your chakra and energy.

Speaking of such, she thought as she sat up and crawled under her covers, wiggling her clean toes against the softness of the comforter. How was Kakashi doing? He'd been sent out on one mission after another for so much of his life that surely Sakura thought he would have taken a break at some point.

"I guess when you're as powerful and renowned as Kakashi the Copy Ninja, you don't get much time to rest," she thought out loud. She turned and switched off her bedside lamp and closed her eyes, letting sleep take over her weary mind so she would stop thinking about her old sensei. For heaven sakes, she was doing it again!

Was she losing her mind? Or was something else really going on here? Perhaps she was over-thinking things, like usual.

She sighed. She needed to talk to him.

"As of tomorrow, no more thinking about Kakashi," she sternly commanded herself before drifting off to sleep. She dreaded what the next morning would bring, despite attempting to put herself back in her place on the matter.

* * *

"A-ACHOO!" Kakashi tried to smother the sudden sneeze into his bloodied elbow. Sudden movements broke the silence around him, and he managed to dodge the oncoming attack just in the nick of time.

'_Fuck! Why did _that_ have to happen at the worst possible moment?_' Kakashi thought crossly, cursing under his breath as a storm of kunai-knives clouded in fire suddenly flew towards him. Obviously his hiding spot had been detected and could no longer be used. He unsheathed his own kunai and proceeded to block every single one of the deadly weapons soaring at him through the air.

They all clattered to the dirt below him, no longer burning with flames or threatening his life as they had moments ago. Kakashi landed near a tall pine, his breathing rapid and ragged from exhaustion. He scanned around him for the enemy who now had the advantage over him. He was exposed, and she was hidden somewhere in the forest around them. He sent out his chakra, searching for any sort of signal to find her presence. When he found none, he moved to another tree.

This fight had been going on for far too long. The client had promised that any enemies he would encounter on the way would be nothing more than B-rank thugs. Too bad he had failed to mention that there was actually an S-rank female shinobi involved in the mission.

The moment she had attacked, he'd recognized her from a bingo book he'd read a few years back. Her name was Yuukia Kazaara, and she was a rogue ninja from the village hidden in the mist. Her specialty attacks included fire and poison, a unique mix for a mist ninja. The fact that her home village was there of all places, and that she hadn't yet been caught by the blackops or the mist village's hunter-nin special ops, was enough to tell him she wasn't an enemy to underestimate. Her description had mentioned she was unnaturally small and could be easily mistaken for a child. Luckily Kakashi had recognized her striking appearance; the combination of insane yellow and red eyes with the dark brown skin and white hair. Otherwise, he very well may have assumed it was a child and would have been killed on the spot for his carelessness. But Kakashi was no fool. And apparently, this Kazaara woman knew that all too well as she remained hidden from his sight.

"I know who you are, Kakashi the Copy Nin!' A shrill, disturbing cackle rang from what sounded like everywhere around him at once. He couldn't pinpoint the source of the voice's location, not even with his Sharingan, which he had already exposed since about two hours ago. He did several three-sixty rotations, searching everywhere around him he could. He was still breathing hard, and his heart raced from the adrenaline pumping through him from the fight.

"And I know you're Sharingan is useless unless you can see me!" Yuukia shouted, using her special jutsu that made her voice come from nowhere yet everywhere at the same time. She watched the man from high in the trees. He was studying the terrain around him, calculating and scheming. She grinned venomously, hungrily.

She hadn't had this much fun playing with her food for years! The man really had lived up to his status in the bingo books. She had been more than thrilled about the entertainment she was getting from the many hours it was taking to close in on her prey and take him down. But she was patient enough for the end. She would wait until he made his mistake, and then she would deal the final blow.

Oh she couldn't wait for that moment when she would tear his heart out from his paralyzed body and slowly eat it before his very eyes as he slowly, and painfully, died. It was her favorite trademark kill, and it had been far too long since she had an opponent worthy enough of such an ending. She licked her lips in anticipation.

Suddenly, his mismatched eyes met her snake-like, red and yellow ones. She froze in her position, and then grinned once his eyes passed over her and continued to roam the tree tops and forest floor. For a second, she thought he had spotted her.

"You can't kill me! You hear? Do you know who I am?!" She screamed hysterically, as if it was the funniest thing in the world.

"I do know who you are, Yuukia Kazaara: hidden mist rogue." An emotionless, predatory voice responded suddenly from directly behind her. In less than a second, his Chidori had pierced her right through the heart and all the way outside her chest. She hadn't had any time to react at all; she watched as the lightning-shrouded hand sticking out of her chest crushed her heart in his fist with horror. She tried to say something, but only ended up coughing up enough blood to know she didn't have a lot of time left before she would die. She quickly grabbed his wrist, preventing him from being able to pull his hand away. Kakashi watched her carefully, with cold, deadly eyes.

"H-how...how did you..." she coughed up more blood, choking on it and gasping for air.

"My clone spotted you for me," he simply stated, and she looked down to where the man's clone stood on the forest floor.

"When..."

"While you were busy boasting about how you couldn't be killed, you exposed yourself just enough for me to confirm your location." Kakashi kept his expression neutral at the amazed expression on the rogue ninja's face. "But I believe I have just proved you wrong."

He tried to slide his arm out of the quickly fading corpse, but his eyes widened in surprise when he found the rogue kunoichi still had an insanely firm grip on his wrist. This was not good. She suddenly looked over her shoulder at him, meeting his eyes squarely with a wicked grin playing on her blood-covered lips.

Definitely not good!

"I still have a trick or two up my sleeve, Copy Nin," she gasped between spurts of blood streaming from her mouth. Kakashi began to fight against her, but was unable to do anything as she suddenly craned her neck down at an awful, crooked angle and sunk her sharpened teeth into his wrist over and over again, biting at the flesh as hard as she could. Instant, fiery pain flooded him and began to steadily increase as it speedily worked its way up his arm, into his neck and then his chest. He groaned in pain, and instantly his chidori was stopped. He dropped to his knees behind her, finding the pain almost as unbearable as the time Itachi had tortured him with the Mangekyo Sharingan. Blood began to seep down his arm from the new, open wounds on his wrist. What sort of jutsu was this?

Yuukia grinned and twisted his arm sharply, until a loud _snap!_ could be heard. Kakashi had to bite back an outburst of agony, which he just barely managed.

'_Fucking bitch just dislocated my arm,_' he thought to himself. Another painful wave of searing heat and fire coursed through him entirely, and he could no longer hold back the sounds of anguish that escaped from him. Normally he had no problem restraining himself from showing any sort of emotion or weakness, even when dealing with pain. But this was unlike anything he had felt before. It was excruciating!

"What the fuck- _Nng!_ Did you do fucking to me?" He ground out, staring her down with an absolutely cold and deadly look.

"Told ya... I would... get ya..." were the last words the enemy mist ninja coughed and spluttered before releasing Kakashi's wrist and going completely limp. The lifeless kunoichi fell forward, tumbling head first off of the branch she had been hiding on. She fell towards the forest floor until a writhing Kakashi heard the solid _thump!_ of her body hitting the ground.

He tried to stand, but every time he moved he would yell out and collapse again. Blackness started to cloud his vision, and he had to act fast before it was too late.

Pakkun came instantly to his quickly clouding mind. He clumsily took some blood from the gaping wound on his chest and slowly but surely managed to perform the necessary seals. A smoke cloud appeared next to him on the branch, and suddenly the air was filled with panicked barking and whimpering from all eight of his ninja hounds.

"Kakashi?! What happened!"

"Master, are you hurt?"

"Who did this to you?!"

"What should we do? He doesn't look so good!"

"Master? Master!"

All of it was too much at once, and Kakashi was quickly losing consciousness. Pakkun noticed this and told everyone to shut up immediately. Once they did, he ran over to his beloved master and whimpered worriedly. Kakashi's mouth was moving, but Pakkun couldn't quite hear him. He laid down flat on his belly and crawled over to a trembling, collapsed Kakashi, and put his ear as close as he could to his master's mouth.

That one word was all he needed to hear.

Pakkun barked at the other dogs, commanding them in their own language so they could understand easier what he was about to tell them to do. He glanced over anxiously at his master.

Kakashi really was bleeding pretty badly.

* * *

Sakura stretched and yawned as she tiredly sat up in her bed. Her eyes felt baggy and heavy, and her head pounded from a small headache. She thought she had a weird dream where her phone kept ringing for over ten minutes, but she didn't have the strength to get up and get it. Then she had another dream where someone had knocked on her door loudly over and over again. It was another awful, restless night of sleeping.

"Great," she said sarcastically before yawning again. "Just what I needed."

After she showered, changed, and prettied herself up with a little eye makeup like usual, she grabbed an apple from the kitchen and took a crunchy, juicy bite. She shuffled over to the door and slid on her sandals before grabbing the bag she had dumped there the previous night. She took a quick peek at the clock on the microwave. She had a little extra time before she actually needed to go, but being early never hurt anyone.

Opening the door, she grabbed her bag, then closed it behind her and left, not bothering to lock it. If she ever had someone break into her apartment, she had told herself many times, they wouldn't have much to steal, anyways. So she never really worried about it.

A big yawn fought its way onto Sakura's face as she strolled down the usual road she took to the hospital. She looked up into the darkened sky with bleary eyes, noting how the sun hadn't even come up yet, even though it was already almost seven.

'_Winter will definitely be here sooner than I'd like,_' she thought glumly, rubbing her arms with her hands in an attempt to warm them from the chilling breeze in the air. Good thing she brought a heavier jacket than what she'd worn yesterday.

She was almost to the hospital when she noticed Ino was pacing frantically by the front doors. Naruto and a few others were there, and they looked like they were trying to talk to her about something, but Ino wasn't even looking at them. A bad feeling suddenly overcame Sakura, and she quickened her pace.

Once she got closer, Ino turned and spotted her. She abruptly stopped her pacing and ran at Sakura, causing Naruto and the others to turn and watch her in surprise. Sakura thought Ino would stop once she got close enough, but she ended up being tackled by her blonde, childhood friend instead.

"Sakura! Oh Sakura! Please, you have to hurry! They tried to call you several times earlier this morning but you must have been really out of it!" Ino cried.

"They?" Sakura asked, suddenly much more awake and energetic than she had been a moment ago.

"The hospital of course" Ino practically shouted, grabbing Sakura's hand and leading her quickly to the doors.

'_Oh,_' Sakura finally understood.'_I guess the dream about my phone ringing wasn't actually a dream after all. But then, that means..._'

"Ino wait, what's happened? Why did the hospital need me so early?" Sakura asked, her voice starting to rise slightly with grave concern.

"Sakura," Ino stopped and turned to look at her sadly. "It's Kakashi, he-"

Before Ino even finished, Sakura had dropped her things next to Naruto, who simply stood there and watched, looking worried and flabbergasted about what the heck was going on. She was already in the building and running up the stairs to the second floor before Naruto had found the words to ask her about what had happened to their sensei.

Once she reached the third floor at the top of the stairs, she slowed her pace a bit and jogged over to a fellow medical ninja working at the front desk, attempting to catch her breath. The medical ninja named Ikki stared at her in bewilderment at her disheveled appearance. But right then, Sakura didn't care if she looked like she hadn't bothered to fix her appearance or if she was breathing like she had just run a marathon.

"K-Kakashi...room...?" Sakura panted heavily. Ikki pointed to the hallway on his right, his eyes still wide open in shock.

"Operating room 4. Tsunade is waiting for you-"

Once again, Sakura was already sprinting away before the sentence was finished.

Once at the room Ikki had directed her to, she pushed the doors open and charged in. She began to scrub down as quickly and efficiently as she could; washing her arms, wrists, and hands thoroughly. Just as she was slipping into surgical attire, Tsunade came through the doors with which Kakashi was just on the other side of. She had a vial filled with a strange orange liquid and some papers in her hand. The moment she saw Sakura, she went over to her and stopped her.

"Master, please! I have to go in there, Kakashi needs my help!"

"Sakura," Tsunade's voice sounded tired and strained, like she had been up for hours before Sakura, dealing with this stressful situation.

"What's going on? What happened to Kakashi?"

"He was very bloody, badly injured, and completely collapsed and unconscious when his ninja hounds brought him here. Luckily, some staff members and I had decided to start a little early this morning, otherwise..." she trailed off, not wanting to jinx herself.

"Does he need an operation?"

"Yes, and he is in the middle of one, getting stitched up right now. Don't worry Sakura; the surgery on his wounds isn't the problem here." Tsunade held up the large vile that held the strange, syrupy liquid for Sakura to see. She stared at it for a moment before it dawned on her.

"Is that-?"

"Yes; snake venom, and a whole lot of it." Tsunade nodded once. "But it's been modified with chakra somehow, it isn't ordinary."

"Not ordinary, how?"

"I've tested its properties already, before trying to make an antidote for the poison. This is a kind I've never seen before. It wasn't created in a lab. Pakkun said it was in the teeth of the last enemy Kakashi had fought before he ended up like..." Tsunade glanced back through the doors she had come through before turning back to her old student. "It's a definitely a toxin, but it acts like fire; fire that has been somehow converted into a liquid form, yet it maintains its original properties."

"So it still... burns?"

"Exactly, Sakura. That's where the bigger issue lies. This stuff is flowing through Kakashi's system right now, and if we don't find a way to make an antidote soon..."

Sakura's eyes grew wide, and a fear clutched at her heart, threatening to squeeze the life out of it if Tsunade didn't say those last few words. She still said nothing, but continued to watch Sakura with saddened, golden eyes.

"Will he...?" Sakura barely said above a whisper. Tsunade nodded.

"He will die, very painfully. It's guaranteed."

* * *

**Author's Notes! :)**

Ah cliffhangers... don't you just love them?

So obviously this chapter was more of a filler, but I promise it was necessary! There will be more romance going on later in the story, but I have to build my way up there first :) Please **R&amp;R**! It would be so helpful! Or just review and tell me what you think so far! Thanks for reading! Love you all! :B

~BountyKress


	3. A Lethal Antidote

**Disclaimer:** Masashi Kishimoto is the rightful owner to the original Naruto series and characters in it; I do not own the series or its characters in any way.

**Warning:** This story is rated M for a reason for those under the legal age of 18.

So what do you readers think? Am I going too fast? Need more details? Please **R&amp;R** so I can try to make the story even more enjoyable! Or if you already like the way it is, say so! I would love to see your opinion!

And thank you for the reviews **Poppy Grave Dreams **(again ^_^), **Kashi**, **Leomae**, and **Katie Yuy!** Knowing you guys are reading my own writing really motivates me to keep doing it!

~Enjoy! :)~

Kakashi is in the hospital, and it's up to Sakura to be the one to save his life. Can she do it in time? Or do things get worse even with the thirty-six hours she's given to come up with the cure? (This chapter is focused more through Sakura's POV, since Kakashi is kind of unconscious.)

* * *

**CHAPTER THREE: A Lethal Antidote**

* * *

Sakura had healed Kakashi countless times, and it was almost always when he would return from rough missions then go directly to her apartment. But seeing him lying there, on the brink of death in a hospital bed, really opened her eyes. His breathing was shallow, and his face was set in a permanent grimace from the pain. Sweat glistened on his paling skin. It was surreal to see the man she had looked up to for so long looking like he would stop breathing at any moment.

She was a fool...

He was a ninja, and just like everyone she knew and loved, he wasn't invincible. She knew that. Yet, some part of her never really registered that one day something like this could happen. Not to him. Not to the strong and powerful leader of her old team. Not to the man who had vowed to protect her with his life over and over again.

Sakura stepped away from the small, circular window that allowed a small view of the action going on in the operating room. Her hands were shaking slightly, and the air suddenly seemed to be knocked from her lungs.

"Sakura, listen to me," Tsunade tried to calmly coax her apprentice from her increasingly shocked state.

'_I might lose him... He's my friend. He's always been there for me. No, he can't possibly leave us just like that..._' Sakura panicked, feeling herself on the verge of hyperventilating.

"Sakura, enough," Tsunade ordered firmly, watching the strong girl she thought so much as her own daughter start to fall apart before her very eyes. Sakura hadn't broken down over a patient in many years.

'_He'll die... Tsunade-sama said he would die if we couldn't find a way. She guaranteed it..._'

"Sakura!" Tsunade suddenly shouted, whipping her hand soundly across Sakura's face. The sting from the slap left Sakura shocked anew. Slowly, she turned to look at her Master, who was glaring icy daggers at her.

"Sakura, get a hold of yourself! Is this what years of training with me produced?" She said harshly, but she knew Sakura needed to hear it. Her apprentice's eyes grew wide in response. "My best kunoichi is falling apart on me, because her friend's life is in danger? You're a medic! Have you already given up hope on your ability to help him?"

A determined will of fire suddenly bubbled up inside of Sakura, and she immediately regained her composure, looking Tsunade right in the eyes unflinchingly.

"No." She stated it like a fact, clenching her fists in renewed strength. Tsunade smiled on the inside in relief, nodding once in approval.

"Good. Then, take these to the lab," she handed her the testing papers and poison-filled vial. "There are assistants down there already; they can help you get the supplies you need. I'm counting on you. You have thirty-six hours to make the antidote."

"Yes, shishou! Right away!" The pink-haired kunoichi bowed respectfully before taking the items from the Hokage and leaving the operating room's wash-station. She took one more look through the circular windows at a suffering Kakashi , then made her way towards the elevator in the hall, pressing the button to open the doors. Once she was inside, she clicked a different button that would take her to the basement laboratory. A soft _ding!_ went off when the doors closed, and then she was moving. She tapped her foot impatiently, wondering if the elevator could possibly go any slower.

A soft _beep!_ sound let her know she had finally reached the bottom floor of the hospital, and then the doors slid open. There was a lot of commotion going on before Sakura's eyes; people were rushing in and out of different stations, people were gathering and making piles of all kinds of herbs and other materials, and some people were even standing right outside the doors, waiting anxiously.

"Sakura-san!" One of the lab assistants stepped forward. "We've been waiting for you!"

All the commotion halted, and almost every pair of eyes in the room was now trained on her.

Sakura held her head high, despite the massive pressure that suddenly fell on her shoulders. She didn't think so many people would be on the case of finding an antidote for Kakashi, but apparently it was more serious than she had feared. She marched right over to a clean lab table and began to set up the station so she could do her tests. Many pairs of hands joined in to help, grabbing beakers and vials, along with other lab equipment, to help her prepare for the long work ahead.

"Sakura-san, what is it you need?"

"Give me the list of the combinations that have already been tested since this morning!" she ordered calmly, pushing her sleeves up out of the way and tying her bubblegum hair back into a ponytail.

"Right away, ma'am!" a purple-haired, female assistant saluted and quickly brought her the list she asked for. Sakura swiftly read over the twenty-seven failed combinations that were written down with big red **X**'s next to them. She bit the insides of her cheeks, worried about the lack of progress.

"Everything we've tried so far hasn't worked," the woman explained. "But we're not out of options yet."

"That's why I'm here," Sakura attempted to smile reassuringly. It worked somewhat; the tensed woman relaxed slightly and smiled politely in return.

Turning around to face the busy traffic of the lab, Sakura held her hands up in the air to grab everyone's attention. Once she did, she spoke to them loud and clear.

"We've got thirty-six hours to get this right! I'm counting on all of you to do your best!"

The small crowd of assistants and lab technicians cheered encouragingly with a single "Yes!" before they began to gather the items that Sakura had written down. Sakura inhaled deeply once and closed her eyes, willing herself to be calm, focused, and collected. She may have nearly lost it back by the operating room, but she wasn't about to let that happen again.

The first of the herbs and items were deposited next to her. She instructed a number of groups to test certain combinations she had thought of herself before she began on what lay in front of her. It was going to be a long day and night ahead of everyone.

* * *

Tsunade hated pacing, yet she was doing exactly that out in the seating area where Ino, Naruto, Hinata, and other shinobi were waiting to know how things were going. News had apparently traveled quickly through Konoha yesterday morning. Naruto had even tried to walk directly into Kakashi's operating room, without hesitation, when Tsunade had knocked him out cold to put a stopper on his almost impossible-to-break stubbornness to see his sensei. She looked over at the ugly bruise that had formed under his eye and sighed.

"You would have disrupted the procedures going on in there, and on top of that you would have invited with you a bunch of dangerous bacteria inside. Kakashi doesn't need either of those while he's in the state he's in," She told Naruto, who glowered at her before turning his head away defiantly. She knew that he knew she was right, but that damn stubbornness of his wouldn't let him admit it out loud.

Ino suddenly stood, and all the tired, worried eyes of those who were there for Kakashi were on her. Tsunade looked at her questioningly.

"Tsunade-sama, how much time does Sakura have left?"

"...About six hours..." Tsunade trailed off quietly. Ino's eyes grew wide for a moment, but she said nothing as she took her seat again next to Shikamaru. Many in the small area looked at each other or stared at the ground, twiddling their thumbs nervously. Shizune and Tonton even looked extremely pitiful. Tsunade crossed her arms over her generously-sized bust. All the gloominess in the room was overwhelming, and it made something inside of her suddenly snap. she had to get out of there.

"If someone can guarantee that Naruto stays put and doesn't cause any more trouble, I will be heading to the lab now."

Naruto turned to glare at her but was too late. She was already walking down the hall, away from him. Her black heels echoed as they clicked against the polished, linoleum flooring.

"Lady Tsunade?" Shizune asked in alarm.

"What?" Tsunade turned to look at her. "The more hands on this case the better. We're running out of time, Shizune."

"Yes I understand, but... who will be in charge of the hospital for the next few hours?"

"... Oh my god... Shizune," Tsunade rubbed her eyes tiredly. "That is honestly the _least_ of our worries right now!" She turned again and headed for the elevator. She pushed the button for it repeatedly and with ferocity, not even caring if the plastic casing cracked under the pressure of her abuse. "If it's such a problem, then _you_ do the damn job!"

"Um-! Y-Yes my lady!" Shizune bowed nervously. Tonton oinked uncomfortably.

Tsunade walked into the elevator when it arrived and pressed the button that would take her to her apprentice. She rubbed her eyes again, this time noticing the severe bags that sat under them. She closed her eyes and pleaded for some superior being above to give them strength.

* * *

Sakura's hand burned and cramped, but she continued to write, cross off, and try again. Nothing was working, and she had less than six hours to save Kakashi's life. No pressure, no pressure she had tried to tell herself. But it was like the blade of a knife of death was slowly but surely tipping as time went by, just waiting to fall and pierce the man who was barely hanging on a few floors above her. She cursed under her breath, slamming her fists on the table in front of her. Some of the already-spent assistants jumped in surprised.

It was just her and a handful of people now. Most had to stop and rest so they wouldn't start falling asleep halfway and accidentally make a mistake. That was something that couldn't be risked. But now the numbers were down, and even the few who had soldiered through the sleepless night were beginning to fade out on her. They had tried and failed over six-hundred and fifty seven combinations against the thick, orange toxin. There weren't many options left.

The same words from her and Tsunade's earlier conversation had repeated through her head over and over again. Something about it seemed to hold the key to what to try next.

_"I_s _that-?"_

_"Yes, snake venom, and a whole lot of it." Tsunade nodded once. "But it's been modified with chakra somehow, it isn't ordinary."_

Suddenly, an unseen light bulb flashed above Sakura's head.

"'Modified with chakra,'" she repeated out loud. Clue number one.

_"It's definitely a toxin, but it acts like fire; fire that has been somehow converted into a liquid form, yet it maintains its original properties."_

_"So it still... burns?"_

_"Exactly, Sakura."_

"Oh my god," Sakura suddenly exclaimed in disbelief. Her assistants eyed her, confusion and slight worry apparent on their faces.

"Sakura-san?" the purple-haired woman from earlier asked. Sakura speedily stood up straight, looking down at the materials below her. A small smile began to play at her lips, giving her a sudden energy boost.

"Oh my god!" She repeated. "Could it really be that simple?"

"What is it, Sakura-san?" The assistants came to her side immediately. Right then, the elevator doors chimed and opened. Out walked Tsunade, the Hokage herself. Sakura immediately ran over to her and hugged her, dirtied lab-coat and all. Surprised, Tsunade lightly patted her back at the sudden display of open affection.

"What's happened? Are you that desperate for my help after all?"

Sakura smiled tiredly but shook her head in reply. "No shishou. I believe I have figured it out at last."

Tsunade's eyes opened wide, but she said nothing as she followed Sakura over to a whiteboard that was covered with different formulas. Her apprentice grabbed the eraser and wiped it all away before drawing a single, large triangle in the center. The Hokage cocked an eyebrow at her pink-haired medic.

"Tsunade-sama, remember our conversation from yesterday; when you told me the toxin still had the properties of fire in its original form, even though the chakra-altered toxin was a liquid?"

"Yes I do. Go on," Tsunade gestured with her hand.

"It's so simple, shishou. The toxin only seemed so foreign and strange to us because we were looking at it all wrong. It's chakra-altered alright, through shape and nature manipulation!"

Tsunade slowly felt a smile growing on her own face. "Ah, I see..."

"It's how ninja are able to take a jutsu and change it to be their own style, or completely come up with a new jutsu altogether; using shape and nature manipulation! Like Naruto's Rasengan. Whoever this Yuukia rogue was that Pakkun told us about, she did the exact same thing, only she combined regular, potent snake venom she often used, with a fire jutsu of her own nature! She shaped it into something else completely."

"I've never heard of such a combination before in my life," Tsunade pointed out, perplexed at the idea of it. "But it is very possible that this mist ninja had tapped into her own, special ways of chakra manipulation, both in nature and shape. That's genius, Sakura."

Sakura smiled proudly at her master's high praise. "Thank you, master."

"But that doesn't explain the triangle you drew on here."

"Ah, right, I was getting to that."

Outside of the triangle, on each side, she wrote a different word. The first one she wrote, on the bottom, was 'fuel'. On the left side, she wrote 'air'. And on the right, she wrote 'heat'. She then did a quick doodle of flames inside of the triangle and wrote the word 'fire'. Tsunade finally understood completely what Sakura had come up with.

"It's the basic fire triangle. The three things needed for natural fire are heat, air, and fuel. If you take one of those away from the triangle, it becomes incomplete-"

"And thus the fire is stopped," Tsunade finished for her, already walking over to the station Sakura had worked at unceasingly for the past thirty hours. "But we only have one option we can take away from the triangle, in this case."

"Right, that's the dangerous part," Sakura sighed wearily, joining Tsunade at the table with the newly-enlightened assistants gathered around them. "We can't take away air, because without oxygen in Kakashi's system, he would..." she trailed off, then cleared her throat before continuing.

"And we can't take away fuel, because the chakra fueling the fire is now Kakashi's own, and that would also... kill him, if we took away every last ounce of it."

"That leaves us with heat," Tsunade nodded in approval. "We'd have to make an antidote that would have the properties to cool him three times more rapidly than the time it would take to completely submerge him in a tub filled with ice, in order to drop his temperature. The risk of lowering his core temperature too much is something to be aware of. We will also have to consider the possible risk of freezing his blood and killing him from making an antidote too potent-"

"Lady Tsunade!" a voice shrieked suddenly from the stairs near the elevator, startling everyone with a jolt of alarm. It was Shizune, panting heavily from running two flights of stairs in heels.

"What's wrong Shizune?" Tsunade immediately grew more serious.

"The nurse's watching over Kakashi's recovery have just informed me that he has taken a turn for the worse, and that he won't last more than another two hours!"

The room went silent, and Sakura's already exhausted body suddenly felt completely drained and weak. She felt her eyes start to sting, so she bit her cheeks hard in order for her master to not see the tears that were forming in her eyes. She felt a warm, reassuring hand rest on her shoulder, which caused her to look up into the dog-tired, yet confident, gold eyes of her former teacher.

"Our time may have just been cut by four hours, but you finally made a breakthrough on this, Sakura," she smiled down at her trembling student warmly. "I am proud of you, apprentice, and I _know_ you can make an exact antidote to this fire-type venom in time. You are very strong and determined, and I am completely confident in your abilities."

Sakura was speechless. She knew her master, Tsunade, was very fond of her, despite the harsh memories of training and unmerciful speeches of what Tsunade had called 'motivation'. But never had she before received praise like that from her. She really believed in her, that she could do it, and that she'd be successful. On her first try against something they've never seen before? If that couldn't boost Sakura's determination to make her master truly proud and get the antidote right and on time, then nothing would. She smiled at her with confidence.

"Thank you very much, Hokage-sama," she pulled her gloves on a little tighter and stared down at the new materials before her. "You can count on me."

'_Hang in there, Kakashi-sensei,'_ she silently sent him the heartfelt message in her thoughts.

* * *

Naruto had begun to doze off. Ino watched as his head bobbed up, then down. Then up, and then down again. Hinata, who had taken a whole hour-and-a-half to muster up the courage to finally sit next to him, was pinking slightly as she watched his blue eyes open and close sleepily. Ino huffed and leaned forward, crossing her legs and resting her chin on her hand. That idiot had no clue about the Hyuuga's humongous crush on him after all these years?

"Pathetic," she mumbled. Shikamaru looked at her with a tired expression on his face. Then again, he always looked like that.

"What is?"

"_That,"_ Ino pointed to the scene. Shikamaru followed her finger and stared, seemingly bored.

"You mean Naruto?"

"He's completely oblivious to that poor girl!" she said a little louder than she meant to. She coughed in embarrassment when a few people stared.

"Yeah well, Naruto doesn't exactly have the highest IQ. He has a pretty thick head," Shikamaru shrugged.

Naruto's 'thick head' suddenly fell sideways, right onto Hinata's shoulder. Hinata burned crimson red, but didn't budge as Naruto continued to snooze on his new-found, comfortable head rest. Ino smiled at the cheesy picture they made.

Not long after Ino had finally begun to doze off herself when the elevator chime rang, and from it emerged Tsunade and Sakura, who didn't take the time to look into the waiting area at all. They immediately were headed for operating room 4. She got up from her spot next to Shikamaru and started to follow them down the hall.

"Wait, Ino, we were told we couldn't go in," Kiba stood up and called after her. She turned to look at him, but didn't stop walking.

"I volunteer here during the week." She smiled sweetly. "_I _can go in; _you_ guys have to stay here. Sorry! I'll keep you posted!" she said right before she disappeared into a room far down the hall. Kiba blushed slightly at the full smile she had given him, and then sat down in her old spot next to Shikamaru.

"This space was occupied," Shikamaru complained. Kiba smirked, unimpressed.

"Just keeping it warm for her 'til she comes back." Shikamaru rolled his eyes at that.

* * *

Sakura watched uneasily as the liquid white fluid of the antidote, which she had managed to complete with forty minutes to spare, was injected directly into his every limb. First his arms, then his legs, and then right next to the wrist that was full of new stitches. The results of his previous operation were obvious since he was only covered in his torn-short pants and his mask, which also covered most of his neck. She could already see the tons of new scars he was going to have on his chest and arms from whatever hell of a fight he had been in.

Tsunade and two other nurses were monitoring him very closely. They constantly checked his temperature, heart monitor, and the levels of toxin in his system now that the antidote was fully injected into him. Sakura subconsciously wrapped her arms around herself in a hug of self-assurance.

"Did you do it?" a familiar blonde's voice whispered from behind her. Sakura turned and saw Ino dressed in hospital attire so that she wouldn't bring in unwanted germs from her other clothes.

"I completed the antidote," Sakura nodded before turning her gaze back onto Kakashi, who had become much paler than he had been a few minutes ago. His rapid breathing was beginning to slow. "Though we had no time to test it out before giving it to him. I'm just praying I didn't fuck it up..."

Ino gently took her hand and held it firmly. The comforting gesture was almost enough to break Sakura's steely composure right then. She silently thanked Ino for the loving gesture.

They watched as Tsunade began to become a little frantic, turning towards the heart rate monitor which had begun to beep slower and slower. Kakashi's body suddenly began to shiver violently, despite him being under. Sakura yelped and trembled in fear. Ino squeezed her hand hard.

"His pulse is slowing down too quickly," one of the nurses said anxiously. The other one, who was checking his temperature repeatedly, also began to grow panicky.

"His temperature was slowly declining until it was below 95 degrees Fahrenheit. It's plummeted since then, already being down at 76 degrees Fahrenheit."

Sakura's heart lept to her throat. Anyone with a temperature of 95 or below was considered to have hypothermia. If it continued, he would...

"Sakura! Come here, quickly!" Tsunade ordered. Sakura stumbled over, letting go of Ino's reassuring hand and instead taking Kakashi's.

"I need you to channel your chakra into him and try to slow down the rapidness of the antidote's effects. If we can get the fire to stop burning, then we'll extract what's left of the snake venom along with the antidote. Then we'll get him on antivenom and carefully raise his core temperature again. Do it now."

Sakura immediately summoned a mixture of green healing chakra and blue normal chakra into her hands and sent them into Kakashi's, carefully feeling along the right channels so as to not further damage him inside. Once she found the openings she could use, she blocked them off to slow down the process. Not surprisingly, the antidote in his system was fighting back, since it was made to fight against the chakra-enhanced toxin. She didn't relent for a second, even though she was nearly at her limit after being awake for so long.

Slowly but surely, she and Tsunade could sense the burning sensation begin to ebb away, dying out like a fire without energy. Sweat began to form on Sakura's forehead in concentration.

Finally, the last of the burning poison was gone, and all that was left was the snake venom and antidote. Sakura wanted to sigh in relief, but she knew it wasn't over yet. She stared down at Kakashi's limp, clammy hand. It felt so unnaturally cold that it scared her.

"His temperature is now at 64 degrees Fahrenheit," the nurse barely whispered, causing Tsunade to get to work on the extracting part immediately.

"Tsunade-sama," the other nurse said worriedly. "If it drops below 54, he's not going to-"

"He'll be fine!" Tsunade suddenly snapped. "He's survived a hell of a lot worse than this. Come on you bastard, hang in there!"

She began the process that Sakura had used on Kankuro when he had been poisoned by Sasori years ago. It was a very painful procedure, yet hauntingly, Kakashi remained still and silent; pale as a sheet and as cold as ice. Sakura squeezed his hand really hard, wishing he would squeeze back to let her know he was okay as a painful lump formed in her throat. His hand remained motionless.

The Heart monitor stayed dangerously slow, almost going from the dangerous lack of speed to a solid line. Tsunade worked faster and faster, trying to extract every last ounce of the toxin and antidote in his body.

"58 degrees..."

"Damn it Hatake, don't do this," Tsunade grunted as she extracted more of the venom in the water glob she had formed.

Sakura began to shake even more as she finally looked at Kakashi's still-covered face. His eyes were finally closed peacefully, though he was paler and barely breathing, unlike before. She scarcely felt his pulse in the hand she held. Tears began to form in her eyes as she studied him, continuing to flow her chakra into him. Her heart hurt a lot more than she remembered it doing when she had last lost a friend. Perhaps it was because Kakashi meant something different to her than Granny Chiyo had? Maybe even more than... She felt the ticklish sensation of hot tears slowly roll down her cheeks. Sakura bit her tongue painfully against the oncoming rush of crying that wanted to burst from her.

"Last one," Tsunade grunted wearily, finally extracting the last bits of the antidote from his system. She had finished taking out the venom not long before extracting the last of the antidote. "There. It's all out now."

"He's at 55.5 degrees," the nurse said desolately.

"Too close..." Sakura thought she heard Tsunade mutter under her breath. "Get him hooked up to some warmed intravenous fluids immediately. We'll use an IV. Also, get an oxygen mask on him, but make sure the air is warmed up and humidified to begin the rewarming process."

"Yes ma'am." The nurses left and returned swiftly, fastening him up to the machines with a speed so fast Sakura worried that they might have skipped over something important. She didn't let go of his hand, and Tsunade noticed this with mild curiosity.

"Ino," Tsunade addressed the shaken blonde by the doors. She looked up at hearing her name.

"Yes, Hokage-sama?"

"Would you mind going back out there, and inform everyone that the danger is over? I'd do it, but I'm a little drained of energy at the moment," she somewhat groaned in exhaustion as she plopped herself down in a chair in the corner.

"Yes of course!" she replied before turning and leaving through the double-doors that lead to the wash-room.

Finally, somehow... the whole ordeal was over.

Sakura didn't fully believe it herself. They had come too close, and she didn't dare let go of his hand, in fear of him suddenly fading away into thin air. Tsunade got up and walked over to her apprentice. She placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, smiling down at her proudly.

"I knew you could do it."

"It almost killed him shishou... _I_ almost..." Sakura's voice wavered slightly.

"No, Sakura. We saved him. Your genius thinking and constant effort and work, even after being awake for thirty-two hours straight, gave him the medicine he needed. It was risky, and it certainly wasn't perfect. But, you _did it_. And you did it well, like I knew you would."

The tears Sakura had been failing to hold back silently rolled down her cheeks at a much faster rate now. Tsunade smiled and gave her a comforting squeeze before turning and walking towards the doors. Sakura's head lowered, covering her face with the loose locks of pink hair that had fallen out of her now unkempt ponytail. Tsunade stopped before passing through the white double-doors.

"You can go home and rest now, Sakura. You deserve it, and you sure as hell need it. Kakashi is no longer in danger, thanks to you." She looked over her shoulder, only to see Sakura shaking her head in protest. The blonde woman sighed.

"Fine, but you must accept a one-week paid vacation after this, or else."

Sakura's shoulders began to shake, and Tsunade knew it was time to give her some privacy. As strong as that girl was, she wasn't invulnerable, and she was still very young. She let the doors slide close behind her before she could hear Sakura's broken, sobbing reply of:

"Thank you, shishou. Thank you for believing in me, and thank you for everything..."

* * *

An annoying ringing wouldn't stop echoing in the room. It sounded like it was constant at first, and then it began to have silent intervals between each one.

_Beep. Beep. Beep..._

He tried to open his eyes, but they felt extremely heavy, like lead. Odd. He didn't recall such a small action ever taking so much effort before.

The beeping was growing louder and much clearer, but he still couldn't open his eyes at all. Not even his fingers wanted to move. Kakashi grew slightly agitated.

There were people talking in low tones near him. Their voices were very fuzzy at first. But, like the beeping, he could eventually hear everything around him clearly. Though he still couldn't move, which irritated him to no end. Something one voice said suddenly got his attention. It was a female voice.

"Poor girl has been here by his side almost all day, every day. She's been at it since a week ago."

"Yeah I know. If Tsunade didn't send her home each evening, she'd probably even stay throughout the night to watch over him too."

"You're probably right. I think it's very sweet though. She must love him very much."

"I don't think it's like that, Tsuki. She said he was just someone important to her when you asked her yesterday. Don't go getting ideas about other people's business."

"Don't be so loud!" the first woman's voice he had heard shushed the other woman harshly. "You're going to wake her up!"

"I doubt it! Sakura has been sleeping like a rock lately. Let's just leave the food for her here, like yesterday. She seemed to appreciate it."

He could hear two pairs of shoes doing their best to walk away quietly. Then he heard a door click, and all was quiet again. By that time, he had regained his ability to move his right hand and feet a bit, though rotating his wrist had hurt a lot when he did so. He still had no idea where he was.

'_What on earth were those two talking about? And why were they talking about Sakura?_' He wondered, starting to have his head clear a lot more. It felt like something heavy was pinning down his left side, including his left hand. But he couldn't shove it off no matter how hard he tried. He quickly gave up on it and let it be.

Slowly, he managed to blink his eyes open. A bright and painful white light stung him and caused him to flinch away. He tried a few more times until it didn't hurt as bad. The white light began to form blurred lines and shapes around him. Suddenly, the smell of antiseptics and latex gloves overwhelmed him. Everything became clear in an instant.

'_I'm in the hospital... in an itchy bed. Great. Favorite place in the whole world,_' He thought sarcastically. Eventually, he was able to see around him more and more until he noticed the weight pinning his left side had pink hair. He took care to sit up carefully to not stir her, then realized she wasn't even in hospital attire. She was wearing a simple red sweater and jeans.

"Sakura?" he attempted to rasp out, but his throat was so dry and hoarse that it came out as more of a horrid croak. The awful sound hadn't woken her, luckily.

'_I need water,_' Kakashi thought, looking around him until he eyed a refreshing bottle of water next to his bed. He grabbed it with his right hand, which continued to ache like hell, and unscrewed the cap with this thumb and finger. He double-checked to see if Sakura was still out of it before pulling down his mask and taking small gulps of the soothing, cool refreshment.

He had drunk three-fourths of it before he had to stop to take a breath. He set the uncapped drink back down on his bedside, instantly feeling better.

Bright colors caught the corner of his eye near the room's window. When he turned to look, he was surprised to find a lot of fresh flowers and bouquets lined the window, and there were more along the floor below. He understood that it was a thoughtful gesture to bring flowers to someone who was hospitalized, but why the hell were there so many of them?

The sleeping lump beside him suddenly stirred. He immediately stilled, watching her turn her head to where he could see her peaceful, sleeping face. The arms that had been bracing her head on the uncomfortable blankets shifted, and with one hand she lazily reached out and grabbed his. Kakashi blushed, not expecting the action in the slightest. Her soft, nimble fingers fit perfectly in between his, he noted with a funny feeling in his stomach. Her pink lips were parted lightly as she breathed. Warmth radiated off of her like she was her own sun, and her hair was mussed, appearing as if it hadn't been brushed for quite a while. All in all, she made the perfect picture of a tired but stunning sleeping beauty. The feeling in Kakashi's stomach persistently grew.

He smiled, contently watching her for a long time. A few times he attempted to remember what had happened to cause him to be in a hospital bed, but quickly grew fatigued from the effort and gave up. The only thing he had managed to remember was Pakkun's worried face. He hoped his adorable little ninja hounds were okay.

"Mmm..." Sakura moaned happily in her sleep. He turned to look at her curiously. "Oh... mm... Ka... Kakashi..."

His ears burned, and his face quickly followed. He watched her sleepy smile grow, and he was suddenly dying to know what she was dreaming about, other than the embarrassing fact that it was obviously about him. But he couldn't tell if she was just happy, or if...

A mental slap was quickly executed before he let that thought go anywhere. But her next few words didn't help his overactive imagination at all.

"Ka... Kashi... MMmn... Please, don't... stop..." she half-sighed half-whimpered.

This was getting dangerous. He immediately decided now was the perfect time to wake her, before she tortured him any further.

"Sakura," he said softly, shaking her lightly and squeezing her hand a few times with his, since she refused to let go. "Wake up, you're sleep-talking."

"Mmmeh... let me sleep, need sleep..." she growled grumpily, burying her face in the blankets. He chuckled.

"You're too damn cute for your own good, you know that?"

"You're just jealous-" she lifted her head tiredly, meeting his mismatched eyes with her partly-conscious ones. She stopped talking immediately, and she suddenly sat up, wide awake. Kakashi gave her an eye-crinkle smile and a small salute.

"Yo," he greeted cheerily. Sakura seemed shocked at first, then a hundred different expressions of sadness, relief, and happiness crossed her face at once. Her eyes began to water slightly. Kakashi gulped.

'_Dear Kami, is she going to cry?!_' He watched her warily. Kakashi was never the best with, uh, watery females. But she didn't cry. Instead, she suddenly pounced on him and wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. Kakashi could only sit there, once again shocked by her unusual behavior.

"Sakura?" He breathed warmly against her neck.

"I'm so glad..." her voice cracked with emotion. "You're okay... I'm so so glad you're okay, Kakashi..."

Not really understanding what she meant nor what to do, he softly returned her embrace with one arm, awkwardly patting her on the back to try to comfort her.

"Of course I'm okay. Strong as an oak," he said proudly. He felt her smile against his shoulder, and he suddenly had the urge to turn her so he could see it.

"You're so corny, you idiot," she laughed, starting to pull away from him. Without realizing it, Kakashi had grabbed her hand again and held it, intertwining his fingers with hers so as to not let her part from him. Both of their eyes widened in surprise at the action, so he tried to cover it as best as he could.

"First I'm a pervert, then a big-ego ninja, then an idiot, now I'm corny?" He grinned at her, regrettably releasing her hand. "Please make up your mind, Sakura. I can only handle a few insults at a time before my big ego starts to crumble."

She broke out into much needed laughter, wiping at a tear that had formed in her eye as she doubled over, clutching her stomach. Kakashi merely kept smiling at her. He was happy to hear her laughing.

"I'm not even gonna- just, no. Not even going to try and make a retort to that," she wheezed, the last of her giggles slowly dying away.

After a while, it was silent again in the room, and Sakura shifted her feet uncomfortably.

"Did you have a nice dream?" Kakashi suddenly asked, a hint of mischievousness glinting in his eyes. He closed his Sharingan eye quickly, realizing he had been staring at her with it. Sakura grew immediately curious.

"Dream?"

"Well, you were sleep talking for a while. I woke you up so that you... uh, wouldn't be embarrassed about it." That was the fattest lie ever. He knew that, but he wasn't going to tell her what she had actually been saying because she had worked him up with it. She would kill him if she knew, even if it wasn't his fault.

"Well I'm still embarrassed about it!" She blushed, hiding her face behind her hair. "I guess it was a good dream, sure... did you hear me say anything?" She asked.

"Why? Was it about some secret crush you don't want me to know about?" he teased, loving how she instantly fired up at his words. He was such a brat sometimes. He grinned.

"So you DID hear me then?!" Sakura suddenly looked like she wanted to die. Kakashi's eyes widened in surprise. He hadn't realized he had hit so close to home.

"No? I was just shooting in the dark on that one. You were mostly mumbling, but you were smiling a lot. Couldn't help my curiosity," he lied again easily. That seemed to relax her significantly.

"Oh... well, good."

'_Good? So it _had _been about her current crush? But, she had said my name in her sleep..._'

Realization suddenly dawned on Kakashi, and he all of a sudden saw her in a new light. That's why she had seemed to grow a lot more physically comfortable around him since the last time he had seen her. That's why she had looked like it was doomsday when he had teased her about her dreaming of someone she felt more for than just a friend. That's why she was acting somewhat different around him; even now, she was blushing and staring at the ground. Normally she could face him with no embarrassment at all. A cold, dreaded feeling sat pitted in his stomach. What the hell had happened while he was unconscious?

Before he could even find words to speak to his old student, she suddenly sat on the bed near his feet. All traces of shyness were gone, replaced by a haunted look in her eyes that gave him chills.

"Kakashi?" She asked. He stared at her coolly, but inside he was wary of her.

"Hm?"

"Do you not remember what happened before your ninja hounds brought you to the hospital?"

"..." He had, a little bit. He remembered summoning his hounds, seeing a lot of blood around him, and he remembered feeling like he was burning alive, but there hadn't been any fire. Suddenly, it came back to him when he stared at his bandaged, right wrist.

"Yuukia..." he said. He looked at the pink-haired kunoichi before him, who waited for his answer. "Yes, I remember now. That was a fight I won't forget anytime soon."

She scooted closer to him, and he discreetly moved his legs away from her. She looked even more haunted than she had a moment ago. Kakashi wanted to reach out to comfort her. But if his instincts were right about his earlier conclusion, which they always were, then he didn't want to encourage anything more with his old student. He would deal with this troubling situation later.

"You almost died, Kakashi..." her voice grew eerily forlorn. He stared at her in astonishment, not aware of the events that had happened since he collapsed.

"Tell me," he encouraged. She gave him an odd look, but then proceeded to describe the horrifying events from the week before.

(~)

When she finished, Kakashi had no words. He stared at her, confused and yet amazed by her. She truly was highly skilled. She had saved his life a number of times, but this took the cake. Never had he known and trusted someone so much. She truly was remarkable; as a medic, as a ninja, and as a woman. Kakashi had known that for a while, yet she never ceased to impress him.

But, he knew he wasn't supposed to feel anything more than camaraderie for her. Fourteen years of age difference made that pretty clear. Yet, he knew she had somehow managed to win over a part of him, even if Sakura herself didn't know it. He needed to be careful around her, now that he knew she had developed at least some feelings for him in return. He wouldn't let her make that mistake, only to end up hurt by him. Or worse, end up dead from his curse.

It didn't matter who it was in Kakashi's life. It would be family, or even friends, but the moment he allowed himself to go beyond seeing them as acquaintances by loving them, they died. He wouldn't let the same curse befall the very girl, now woman; he cared for more than anyone he knew. He would have to harden his heart against her and keep his distance if he wanted her to still be in his life. His heart ached greatly at this realization.

Of course, he couldn't possibly tell any of this to her. She would think he was lying, or just plain paranoid, which he kind of was. But that didn't change the fact that the curse in his life was real. He had sworn many years ago that he would protect her with his life. If that meant sacrificing his heart and happiness in order for her to still be around, he'd do it without a second thought.

Not only that, but she used to be his student! His little, Genin shinobi! He couldn't possibly be with her. She had still been a child when he had first started to teach her and the rest of squad seven. She may be twenty-two now, but he was still fourteen years her senior, even if he didn't look it. There was no way he could do that to her. She was still young. She still had plenty of people her age who would date her and treat her properly. At least, he hoped.

"Kakashi?" Sakura asked, startling him out of his deep thinking.

And since when had she permanently dropped the sensei name? He groaned under his breath. He knew he had asked her to no longer call him that, since they were equals after all. But it would have helped him keep his distance if she wasn't so friendly towards him, since they were still ex-student and ex-sensei, no matter what.

He was extremely torn between these new feelings he had discovered in himself and the knowledge that having them would only bring hurt and danger to her. He sighed painfully.

Kakashi decided to not say anything about it or bring it up until Sakura made the first move. There was no reason to bring up such a dramatic and touchy subject at that moment.

"I'm sorry Sakura," Kakashi said, running his hand through his silver mop. Sakura noticed the gesture, since it was one he usually did when he was stressed, but she let him continue. "I guess I'm at a loss of words for how grateful I am. You know; for saving me, again."

She smiled warmly at him. "Anytime."

Just then, a loud knock rapped on the door. With a jolt, Sakura stood from the bed as they both turned to suddenly find a small crowd of familiar faces pile into the room at the same time, with Naruto's leading the front.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto exclaimed happily. "You're finally awake! You've been out for a whole week!"

Kakashi grinned under his mask and waved awkwardly to all the people around him. They stared at him with huge, relieved grins on their faces. He didn't ever feel comfortable being the center of attention unless it was absolutely necessary. And the current situation was no exception to that. He rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably.

"Was I really that bad?" He asked almost apologetically.

"Yeah, you were!" Naruto said.

"You really had everyone worried there, Hatake," Kurenai smiled. "That was the closest any of us have seen you to leaving us for good."

"Ah. Sorry for making you worry," he told her.

"What are you saying sorry for?!" Ino stepped in. "Don't apologize for something like that! It's because we care, you know!"

Everyone nodded their heads in agreement. Kakashi rubbed his neck again.

"Well then, uh, thank you for worrying?" he tried again. Sakura slapped her forehead, to which a few chuckled at.

"Anytime," Shikamaru and Choji grinned in unison.

* * *

**Authors Notes! :)**

Yaaay happy ending! Well, sort-of. Seems like things might be a little awkward between Kakashi and Sakura from now on.

Hope you guys liked this chapter! Why not go ahead and **R&amp;R** and tell me what you thought about it, or what you liked about it! Or didn't like, either way. :) Thanks for reading! Love you all! :B

~BountyKress


	4. Just A Few More Drinks

**Disclaimer:** Masashi Kishimoto is the rightful owner to the original Naruto series and characters in it; I do not own the series or its characters in any way.

**Warning:** This story is rated M for a reason for those under the legal age of 18.

Wow! Thank you so much for your reviews! From **Katie Yuy**, **xzzz**, **Cookie**, and **Kashi**! :) I always get so happy when I get to read what you guys have to say! And also, thanks to those who have favorited the story and are following it. I love you guys too!

So I apologize for taking longer with this chapter than I have with the last two! I went to visit my family, who are a few states away, for almost a week so I had literally no time to sit and work on this chapter. But it's here now so...

~Enjoy! :)~

Don't forget to **R&amp;R**!

* * *

**CHAPTER FOUR: Just A Few More Drinks**

* * *

"Seventy-six... seventy-seven... seventy-eight..." Kakashi grunted with each push-up. The sun was rising and beginning to shoot its warm rays through his large bedroom window. Pakkun rolled happily on Kakashi's bed, and his tongue lolled out once he stopped and lay on his back comfortably.

"Seventy-nine... eighty... eighty-one... Pakkun, I just made that," he stopped and turned to watch the little ninken pug mussing up the sheets he had just straightened. Pakkun stopped and stared at his master with big, black, shiny eyes. He shook his head at the pathetic display, no longer affected by it after so many years, and continued with his morning warm-up routine. After reaching one hundred push-ups, he pinned one arm behind his back and proceeded to complete a hundred more.

He could feel the satisfying tightening and tearing of his muscles each time he would lower himself and push himself back up again. He had been in the hospital for an additional, entire week before Lady Tsunade had finally allowed him to leave the godforsaken place. Losing two weeks of exercise made a big difference in how much Kakashi could do, he'd realized as he'd gotten older. If he didn't keep on his routine, it would throw off his performance. So he wanted to make up for the lost time by starting out with a tough warm-up session. He was finally on the last exercise for the workout: completing a total of two-hundred and eighty push-ups.

Completing the first hundred had been easier than Kakashi thought it would be, despite being out for more than a week, so he had switched to doing them with one arm behind his back instead. It was more challenging that way. Sweat even began to slowly build up on his brow.

Kakashi secretly enjoyed challenges, even in the smallest of activities like this one. But unlike Gai, he didn't have an unhealthy obsession with it.

Thinking of his life-long rival steered his thoughts back to the night of the festival, when he had tried to avoid Maito Gai by hiding on the roof because of his unusual, monotonous challenges. That was the night he had somehow ended up as Sakura's date. It was also the night he had let himself get carried away with teasing her...

He hadn't meant to flirt with her so much and send her the wrong message. But when he had found her exiting a shop looking flustered and extravagant in the navy kimono she had worn, he had momentarily forgotten who she really was and instead saw her as a young and beautiful woman. Which she indeed was, but she was no stranger to him.

Sakura had been his student since she was a twelve-year old Genin, until Tsunade had taken over her training at age fifteen. He had hardly seen her during that time, until Naruto had returned to the village after his two and-a-half years of training with Master Jiraiya. Then Tsunade had selected him to be the leader of team Kakashi, which had also been disbanded after a time.

Technically, they were all equals now. Naruto, Sakura, and even Sasuke, who had decided to come back to the village after the war, were now Jounin-rank shinobi and were no longer his subordinates. Yet the three of them still called him sensei and saw him as their leader. This history he had with Sakura, along his actions that night, made him wonder what had made him act like that at the festival in the first place. The warm, unwelcome feeling was back in the pit of his stomach, which he once again ignored.

"Two-hundred and sixty-six... sixty-seven... sixty-eight..." he grunted as he subconsciously switched to his other arm before continuing. His brow was furrowed in concentration, yet he was deep in thought about team seven and the changes between the four of them over the years.

The day he had woken up in the hospital to find Sakura sleeping at his bedside had left him troubled. Kakashi wasn't a fool, and he was well-known for seeing underneath the underneath as a master of observation. Sakura hadn't hidden her abnormal amount of affection from him very well, but he had at first assumed that it was because he had nearly died while she tried to save him. Now he knew there was more to it, and he wasn't sure what to do about it. He could avoid her, perhaps. But Sakura wasn't an idiot either, and would know something was wrong.

To say he felt unsure would be an understatement. He had felt uncomfortable whenever she would come to check on him, yet he would also feel a surge of warmth whenever she smiled. His mind and his body were brewing up a contradictory storm with one another, and it still remained that he was at a loss of what to think of it.

"Kakashi... your face is getting a little red. You're supposed to breathe each time you push up, you know," Pakkun watched his master with concern, wondering what he was thinking so hard about. Kakashi stopped midway and looked up at his little pug, who was now sitting directly in front of him.

"Yeah, I know," he said.

"I thought you planned on taking it easy by doing a little under three-hundred of those today," he scratched lightly behind his ear.

"That was the plan, yes."

"So why are you already at three-hundred and twenty-five push-ups?"

"..." Kakashi didn't respond. He had been so distracted by his own thoughts that he hadn't been paying attention to his work out. He slowly got up and sat on his knees, stretching his arm out to loosen its stiffness. Pakkun pawed at his leg, looking up at him worriedly. Kakashi looked down at him and scratched softly under his chin before going back to stretching his arm.

"You've been out of it ever since you came back from the hospital two days ago. Did something happen?"

"Not really," he said. He began to stretch his other arm when Pakkun pawed at him again.

"You were lucky Sakura was there to save you... she really seems to care about you."

"What do you know about Sakura?" Kakashi asked, suddenly interested. "Did she say something?"

Pakkun tilted his head and looked at his summoner curiously. "Not really, I guess. She just acts differently with you than anyone I've ever seen her with. She smells nice too," Pakkun grinned. He sighed at the ninken.

"You know she switched her shampoo because you told her you used the same brand, right?" Kakashi smirked.

"She still smells nice though, even if her shampoo isn't as good anymore."

"As good as what? Yours?" Kakashi stood up from the floor and began walking towards his bathroom. Pakkun merely gave him a lopsided grin before hopping back up onto the bed. He rolled his eyes at the canine.

After stripping from his mask-attached black tank top, and his bottoms, he turned the shower on until it was almost boiling hot and stepped in. He let the water run through his hair and over his body for a while, allowing the heat to help relax his tight muscles. But the stress didn't go away, and the more he thought about his old student, the more stressed out he became. He shut his eyes tightly, willing the image of a kimono-wearing, pink-hired kunoichi out of his mind.

He sighed. It was going to be a long day.

* * *

"He would totally ask you out," Ino pointed to a man who had shoulder-length black hair and killer green eyes. Sakura squinted over at the buff man, who was too busy flirting with the bartender to take notice of their obvious staring. She couldn't tell if he was very good-looking or not, and she swore it had nothing to do with the fact that her vision was hazy from the strong drinks she had just downed. Sakura turned back to her blonde friend and shook her head.

"I doubt it. You're the one who usually gets the attention whenever we come here," she pointed at Ino's casual but sexy outfit. Ino shrugged and grinned.

"Well that isn't _my _fault. I've tried to doll you up before, but you wouldn't even let me near you! If you would just let me try, you'd see that I could make you a _masterpiece_," she said excitedly before teetering slightly to her left.

"Don't fall out of your chair, Ino. Fine, look, I promise the next time I go to a bar, you have permission to 'doll me up'. Happy?"

Ino smiled drunkenly before nodding her head and downing a shot of some kind of drink Sakura didn't recognize. "You gotta pinky promise, though..."

"What are we, five-year olds? F-fine," Sakura hiccupped as she hooked her pinky around Ino's. "I pinky promise you."

"Can't ever go back on those pinky promises; they are our absolute swearing of an agreement with each other!"

"Yup," Sakura took a generous swig of the alcohol Ino was drinking. It instantly burned her throat and nose, and she began to sputter and cough loudly.

"You idiot!" Ino laughed hysterically. "Don't just chug that stuff, it's strong as hell!"

"I – **_cough!_** – know that – **_cough!_** – now!" She choked out. Ino laughed until she had to grip her sides to try and breathe right again. Sakura was getting drunker and more irritated with each cup she emptied down her throat.

A young and, of course, attractive man suddenly approached Ino and leaned on the table they were at, not even glancing once in Sakura's direction.

"Hey there baby, you're really heating up the room tonight with that outfit," he gave Ino a perfect smile, if not a little tipsy-looking. She grinned back and flirtatiously ran her hand through her long, blonde hair.

"Well, thank you very much," she looked at him with an expression that was anything but humble from his cheesy compliment. Sakura glared at the man who continued to act like she didn't exist."

"Got a name, sweetie?" He scooted closer to her, resting his chin in his hand.

"Ino, and this is my best friend, Sakura," she happily gestured over to the grumpy-looking kunoichi. The man barely turned his head to spare her a nod in her direction before turning his coffee brown eyes back on Ino. Sakura wanted to punch his rude, scumbag face right through a wall.

"Ino? That's so pretty," he continued to flirt cheekily with her, but Ino seemed to be enjoying herself quite thoroughly. Sakura decided she'd had enough of the evening going on like this. She stood from the table and began to walk away.

"Sakura, where are you going?" Ino called after her.

"To get more drinks. Have fun with him," she waved her hand dismissively as she continued to clumsily stumble away from the table.

"Um, okay! If you say so!" Ino agreed all-too easily. Sakura knew Ino absolutely loved the attention she got at the bar, but she was never a bitch about it to Sakura. She would try to include her like she had a moment ago, but it was obvious that none of the men were interested in Sakura when their eyes were on a big-chested Ino. So she would walk away and either drink alone, or leave the bar so that Ino wouldn't feel guilty about having some fun instead of drinking with her at a lone table. Sakura wasn't sure if sticking around would help her much, so she almost made it out the door when she bumped into Tenten.

"Woah! Sorry about that- Sakura? Are you okay?"

"Huh?" Sakura looked at her, wondering how she wasn't drunk like everyone else around them was. "Why are you able to stand up straight?"

Tenten smiled at that.

"I'm here to make sure Neji doesn't overdo it tonight. He made me promise to take him home after a number of drinks. Why aren't you with Ino?"

"Bah," Sakura waved her hand through the air like it wasn't a big deal. "She's having some fun with a cute guy, so I decided to give them some space. Want to have a drink with me?" she offered.

"As long as we stay at the bar counter so I can keep an eye on Neji, then sure! We don't really talk much, do we?"

"Nope! But we could start right now!" Sakura smiled happily, no longer feeling alone.

(~)

"So then he actually whispered into my ear! And wished me a happy last day of – **_hic!_** – Autumn! I got huuuuge butterflies when he did that!" Sakura finished off another drink, feeling suddenly depressed as she told Tenten the story of what happened at the festival. The brunette kunoichi seemed to be intrigued by it, so Sakura saw no sense in not telling her everything, mostly because she currently had no sense. But she didn't know that, thanks to the generous amounts of alcohol in her system.

"So you haven't talked to him yet?" Tenten smiled as she tapped on the glass bottle she held in her hand. "Thass stupid!"

"How could I?" Sakura replied with her words just as slurred as Tenten's. "Ever since the hospital, he's been acting kinda weird. But, I've kind of had this feeling of more than jusst comradeship between us for a while now. Iss just gotten worse since that night... I don't freaking know..." She confessed and shrugged tiredly.

"Sakuraaaa hass a cruuush on her seeenseeeeii," Tenten laughed as she sang out the words, swinging her bottle through the air as if it was something to celebrate. A few people turned and stared at them. Sakura clumsily reached over and clamped her hand over Tenten's mouth.

"Not so loud! People will hear you!" her face grew pinker, already flushed from the warm feeling of alcohol in her stomach. Tenten pouted and sat back in her stool.

"But it's so cuuute! You and Kakashi? Who woulda thought..." she said and she stared at Sakura through glassy eyes.

"We aren't together, Tenten. I doubt he'd ever even think about something like that... 'specially with me," she hid her face in her arms after downing another shot, feeling more sad than she had earlier that night. Why was she so depressed again?

"I won't tell anyone, no worries," the brown-haired, drunken weapons specialist gave her a look of sincerity. "But you can't keep this a secret for forever. You gotta talk to him sooner or later... that's what happened with me and Neji."

"But Neji isn't fourteen years your senior," Sakura pointed out bluntly. "And you weren't his student in the past. And he isn't an emotionless, sarcastic bastard more than half the time."

Tenten stared at Sakura for a minute before smiling and shaking her head. "That's true, but you can't compare your own situation to something like that. Everyone is different, and everyone has different needs and wants. People hafta accept that and move on at some point."

"Couldn't have said it better myself," Neji interjected, wrapping a clumsy arm around Tenten's waist. They made an odd picture, since she was sitting high up on a stool and he had to reach up to actually get his arm around her waist. "Besides, I don't even know you very well, but I totally support you Sakura-san!" He cheered and raised his bottle in the air. Tenten copied him and hit her bottle with his.

"Here here!"

"Support her for what?" Ino asked, startling Sakura from behind and causing her to almost lose her already dizzy footing.

"Sakura likes Kakashi-sensei, but doesn't want to do anything about it. Oh! But, shh! It's a secret, Ino!" Tenten giggled like a school girl who had just been caught saying something she shouldn't have. Sakura glared at her and attempted to steal her drink as payback for letting the cat out of the bag. Ino quickly grabbed her and spun her around before she could. The room was dangerously spinning around Sakura at high speeds.

"You went and gossiped with _Tenten _about the guy you were daydreaming about?Even though I asked you first?! And it's _Kakashi?!"_ she shouted over the blaring music and chatter from around the room. Sakura grinned and shrugged happily, too drunk to have a care in the world.

"Oops! Hee-hee! Guess now you know though, pig!"

"Forehead! You are in sooo much trouble!" She began to drag Sakura away from the bar and towards the door.

"Awww! Are we going home already? I don't wanna..."

"Too bad, you've had too much to drink, and we have too much to talk about in the morning now," Ino said as she grinned mischievously at her very drunk childhood friend. Sakura waved over her shoulder at Tenten before she was completely out the door.

"Thanks for talking, Tenten!"

Neji and Tenten both raised their drinks in farewell and smiled at her.

"Buh-bye Sakura! Remember what I said earlier!"

She would try, but she didn't think sober Sakura was going to be able to remember much, not after how much she had to drink at the bar tonight.

(~)

Once outside, the chilling air hit her like a slap to the face. She recoiled, which only made her stumble out of Ino's grip and fall onto the ground, right on her butt. Her ears rang and her head began to pound a little.

"Owww! Why'd ya drop me, Ino pig!?"

"You fell, idiot," Ino laughed and helped her back up again. The two of them continued down the street for what felt like forever to Sakura. She groaned after only five minutes of walking.

"How much did you drink tonight?" Ino smirked as she tried to get them both back to their apartments safely. Sakura stared at her as if her question was the strangest thing in the world.

"I don't remember," she giggled, feeling an odd surge of pride at the confession. Ino shook her head and rolled her eyes.

"That's never a good sign if even _you_ don't remember. You aren't usually much of a lightweight."

"Eh? I'm not a lightweight! I could totally drink more than you!" Sakura challenged, mishearing what her friend had just said. Ino sighed.

"Just stop dragging your feet so I can help you, please," Ino grunted under the increasingly difficult weight Sakura was putting on her.

Sakura grew quiet suddenly, and a suspicious light snoring came from behind Ino's shoulder. If Sakura had just passed out on her, Ino didn't think she would be able to walk much farther. At least, that's what she had thought, until, not far ahead of them, she spotted silver hair illuminated under the night sky.

"Kakashi-sensei! Is that you?" Ino called after him, hoping it was indeed Sakura's previous mentor. The man turned around to reveal a mask covering half of his face. Ino smiled in relief.

"Ino?" he began to walk toward her, but stopped once he saw what, or rather, who she was dragging behind her. "What happened?"

"We went drinking tonight. One of us kept going, though, past the point of no return,' she said dryly, giving Sakura a very unsympathetic look. "She passed out a moment ago, but I don't think I can get her home all the way. She's too heavy when she's like this."

After a pregnant pause of awkward silence, Kakashi reached out and gently lifted Sakura into his arms.

"I'll get her there. You go ahead and head home yourself. I'll take care of her."

"Really? Thank you, Kakashi-sensei!" Ino smiled in appreciation before turning and leaving in the direction of her own apartment. She wasn't as drunk as Sakura, but she was having a little trouble walking straight. The moment she had turned around, though, a thought hit her.

"Wait, didn't Tenten say something about Sakura and Kakashi back at the bar?!" She remembered out loud. But it was too late. When she went back to say something, Kakashi was already gone. And so was Sakura.

"Ino?" a voice came from her right. She turned around a little too fast and felt herself beginning to lose balance. A hand shot out and stabled her upright before she fell.

"Did you go drinking? Again?" Shikamaru's laid-back voice scolded. She grinned up at him, not guilty in the slightest.

"Yep! And I'm feeling sooo good!" she wrapped her arms around his neck and laughed loudly. He sighed and rolled his eyes heavenward.

"I'll walk you home, you crazy woman," he smiled to himself. Ino smiled back and leaned on him, finding it more difficult to stand than it had been a moment ago.

"You should be thrilled to walk the hottest girl in Konoha back to her apartment, you ungrateful man," she teased, laughing at her own sarcasm. Shikamaru sighed. He might as well play along so that he could get her home faster.

"You're right, I am very lucky indeed. I'm sorry I wasn't more appreciative of it," he inwardly chuckled. Whenever Ino got past a certain point of being drunk, she acted much more high and mighty than she usually was. She acted like spoiled royalty that demanded respect and appreciation among other things. It was fun to play along when she got drunk, but even more fun to mess with her.

"That's right!" She nodded dramatically. "You bet you're lucky ass you're sorry! Being in my presence is an honor!"

"Whatever you say, your highness," Shikamaru smirked, bracing her against him as they continued to walk, or rather, stumble their way to her apartment. He felt sorry for her; her head was going to hurt like hell in the morning.

* * *

He had managed to go through almost the entire day without running into her, until fate had decided to be unkind to him that night.

He had distracted himself for most of the day by catching up on a bunch of needed house chores; cleaning, doing laundry, restocking supplies and food, and so on. He usually didn't bother with such menial tasks, since he was almost always away on missions, but he had nothing better to do and it kept him busy from his own thoughts.

It had worked for a while, until he came across a medical kit Sakura had made for him a few years back, in case she wasn't around to help him. That was the moment he had decided it would be a great idea to go for a short night walk by himself. He grabbed his favorite book and walked out the door.

His date with Icha-Icha paradise was cut even shorter, though, when Ino had spotted him and asked for his help. He sighed

It really was a lovely night, he thought to himself as he looked up at the full moon and stars. But when he looked down at the sleeping woman in his arms, he couldn't help but think the most beautiful thing he'd seen that evening was currently cradled against his chest.

Kakashi couldn't deny his attraction towards her, he hated to admit. She really had grown up to be a striking kunoichi, and woman. She was no longer the little, hesitant, love-sick girl he had known. He couldn't help staring at her as he walked towards her apartment.

Her pink hair flowed like water as the breeze gently blew it around her flushed cheeks. Her soft, rosy lips were parted slightly as she slept, tempting his darker side to find out just how sweet they would taste against his. Her eyelids were shut lightly, giving her the appearance of a sleeping, peaceful angel. The moon shone on her creamy, silky skin, which Kakashi couldn't help enjoying the feeling of as he cradled her while he walked.

Her eyes were her best feature, in his opinion. They were a bright yet deep, beautiful green, like the forest surrounding the village during spring time. They were the windows to her soul, and he could read everything she felt through them with just a single look. She probably didn't even know green was his favorite color. They were intriguing and stunning, and he knew he had better stop staring at her at that moment before he did something stupid, like take advantage of her.

He wouldn't ever do anything to an unconscious woman, but she could wake up at any moment, and he knew he couldn't trust himself to keep his cool if he kept ogling at her like this. He looked up from the sleeping beauty and kept his eyes straight ahead, guiding them through the dark and empty streets of Konoha.

(~)

They finally made it to her apartment. Kakashi had forgotten that Sakura had moved into a different place over a year ago, so trying to find her new home with a fuzzy memory alone took longer than he had meant it to. Sakura had started to shiver from the dropping temperature, so he somehow managed to shrug out of his vest and drape it over her until he had found the right complex.

There was a gray-haired old woman waiting right inside the lounge door when he opened it. She was absolutely tiny and hunched over, pacing back and forth with a little bamboo stick she used as a cane. When she spotted him, she raised her arms in the air and exclaimed loudly.

"Oh my, oh my! I was really starting to worry about her! She's usually never out this late, so I couldn't help but fear for the worst! How sweet of you it was to find her and bring her back safely, young man!"

Kakashi just stared at the old woman, caught off guard by her unexpected outburst. Apparently Sakura had a very friendly relationship with her landlord. He gave her his usual, polite eye-crease smile.

"Sorry if she worried you. She had just a few more drinks than she should have tonight, so I offered to relieve her from her friend's responsibility to take her home. Which room is she in?'

The old woman smiled a toothy grin at him and clapped her hands together excitedly. What a peculiar person.

"Ahh what a gentleman you are! I'm surprised Sakura hasn't had you over more often! You're just her type, ya know! I can tell just by looking at you!"

Kakashi blushed significantly, but quickly regained his composure and cleared his throat to try and get the lady to pay attention to his question. She seemed to realize she was getting sidetracked and bowed down in a quick apology.

"Sorry, sorry! And old hag like me sometimes forgets to hold back from letting my mouth run away on its own! She's on the third floor, number 313. Should be on the right!"

"Right... thank you." Kakashi shifted Sakura up a little more, since she was slowly beginning to slip down from his arms, before he passed the landlord-lady and proceeded up the stairs. Sakura was surprisingly lighter than what Ino had led him to believe. Carrying someone up three flights of stairs wasn't generally an easy task for anyone, but Sakura sat perfectly against him and weighed as much as small backpack full of pillows.

He was almost at the top of the last flight of stairs when she began to stir. He looked down at her and found her emerald eyes slowly opening. He could see they were slightly bloodshot and heavily glazed over.

'_How much did she have to drink tonight?_' he wondered with concern. She looked up at him, and her confusion was written all over her face.

"Ka... kashi?" she mumbled sleepily, squinting her eyes against the lights lining the top of the staircase. He smiled as he watched her attempt to figure out what was happening around her. She wasn't succeeding very well.

"Hmn?" He stared at her. He wasn't sure, but he thought her pink cheeks suddenly grew darker when he looked at her.

"Where am I? And what are you doing?"

Kakashi reached her door, room 313, and turned the knob until he heard a small _click!_ He pushed it open with his shoe, revealing complete darkness on the other side. He lightly stepped in, not bothering to remove his sandals, and flicked on the light switch. The decently spacious living room came to life under the dim light, and he made his way down the hallway, passing the kitchen and an extra bedroom door. He looked back down at her and smiled.

"You're in your apartment, and I am here to make sure you get into bed safe and sound. Is that alright with you?"

She nodded, but he wasn't certain if she was really understanding what he said or not. She was still extremely buzzed and didn't seem to comprehend much of what was around her.

He reached an open doorway at the end of the hall. He could make out the outline of a bed against the moonlight pouring in from her window. He took a deep breath, commanding himself to not let his mind wander to any dirty thoughts before he stepped in.

Kakashi looked at her cradled against his chest one more time before gently laying her onto her bed. She sighed happily once she hit the soft covers and then curled up in a ball. She was still dressed in his vest and her shinobi attire, kunai strap and shuriken pouch and all. He sighed. He couldn't just let her sleep with sharp weapons attached to her clothes.

"Sakura, why don't you change into some pajamas before you pass out again? You're not going to sleep well if you don't."

She let out an annoyed groan. "I don't wanna mooove... head hurts too much..."

"And whose fault is that, Sakura?" he chuckled to himself. She ignored him and shook her head in protest, like a grumpy kid who didn't want to get up. He sighed again. The gods were really out to get him tonight.

"Fine. Stay right there, I'll grab some for you and help you change."

"Okay," she agreed too easily. He wanted nothing more than to get out of there at that exact moment, but if he let her get stabbed in her sleep due to her own drunkenness, he would feel guilty for not helping her. He opened up her top dresser drawer and had to close it immediately.

It was too late, though. The images of Sakura's sexy underwear, both plain and lacy ones alike, would forever be burned into his mind. He cleared his throat and turned to look at Sakura sprawled out on her bed.

"Um, where do you keep your pajamas?"

"Ung... ummm... second drawer from the top... I think," she drawled out tiredly. He opened the drawer and found what he was looking for. He grabbed the first top and bottoms he saw before closing it fast and walking over to her. The moonlight played on her revealed skin, making her glow strikingly in the darkness of the room. Kakashi had to shut his eyes and count to ten before he knelt on the floor in front of her.

"Sakura, you're going to have to help me here."

"Mmm... okay, _sensei_," she whispered a little too sensually. Kakashi's gaze was transfixed on her the moment she began to slowly and torturously strip from her clothes.

First she removed the skirt and shorts, kicking them onto his shoulder once they had slid down to the tips of her toes, revealing her sexy, black panties and her long, bare legs. A warm heat began to stir in his abdomen as she continued, stripping off her shirt and revealing a plain but sexy black bra which made her skin look even creamier.

'_Oh Kami... why did this have to happen to me?_' he held back the urge to pin her down on the bed and kiss her right then and there. It only made matters worse when she gave him glazed-over, drunken bedroom eyes. He could feel an unwanted stirring in his pants starting to react to the show she was giving him.

"Well? Aren't you going to dress me, _sensei_?" she looked at him with an expression that Kakashi never imagined he'd see on Sakura's face.

It was lustful, sultry, and it was seriously turning him on. When she called him sensei, it sounded so dirty to him, yet it made him want to do all sorts of dirty things to her right that second. He had to hurry and leave before this got any more out of hand.

"Sakura..." he tried his best to scold her, but it came out as more of a low and husky plea. That wasn't what he had been aiming for at all. He took another deep breath before he allowed himself to say another word. "Lift up your arms."

She complied, all the while smiling at him like she knew he wanted her, and he did, badly. The things he was feeling made Kakashi both excited yet sick.

This wasn't right, being in this position in his student's bedroom. He managed to pull the pink shirt over her head and breasts, which he couldn't help but continue to stare at even after their beauty had been covered by the damn clothing.

Suddenly, she wrapped her legs around his neck and pulled him towards her. He was face to face with the thin, black panties that were just barely covering her sacred area. He let out a low groan, feeling absolutely tortured.

"Sakura," he ran his hands along her long, smooth legs, then grabbed them gently and removed them from around his neck. She seemed to be confused by his rejection of her. He struggled to keep his eyes on her face. "Don't tease me like this. I may be your friend, but I'm still a man."

She smirked at him knowingly. The stirring in Kakashi's abdomen only intensified.

"But Kakashi... don't you want me?" she asked innocently, putting a slender finger against her bottom lip.

He literally had to bite back a moan until his tongue bled. The way she was spreading her legs in front of him where he knelt on the floor, the way she was sensually whispering to him, and the hot and heavy way she was looking at him were all oozing with sexual desire, for _him_, and it was killing him inside to say no to her.

Kami, he wanted her badly. So. Fucking. Badly. But he wasn't going to comply with a very drunk and very mistaken Sakura. He knew she was just smashed right now, and would go back to her normal self in the morning. And he would go on and pretend this night had never happened, because that was the way it should be. It was how it had to be.

"Sakura, if you really want to start anything like this, wait until it's morning," he said, trying to find a way to appease her without upsetting her. "You don't feel like it right now, but you are very tired and need lots of sleep."

He stood up and tossed her pants he had retrieved from the drawer and snatched his vest off of her bedspread. The pants landed on her face, but she didn't bother to remove them. He was about to promptly turn and leave when he heard her breathing grow slightly ragged. He turned back to find her shoulders shaking, and she was hugging herself tightly.

"Sakura?" he asked, watching her with concern.

"It's always Ino, isn't it? She's always been the beautiful, fun, party-loving one. She gets all the attention. She gets all the flattering words. Why can't anyone see me and accept me for who I am?" she sobbed softly. Kakashi sighed inwardly, tiredly. He had no idea why girls' behaviors always changed so erratically when they were drunk, and he honestly didn't feel like dealing with it right then.

"I accept you for who you are," he told her. She looked up at him and glared, letting the pajama bottoms slip off her head and fall into her lap.

"That isn't what I mean, and you know it."

"Sakura..." he slowly approached her and sat next to her on the bed. She didn't look at him, but the tears kept silently rolling down her cheeks. He didn't really know what to say. But thankfully, Sakura did.

"I've been on plenty of dates. But they either only dated me for just the pleasure of a physical relationship, or they ended up liking Ino and left me for her. She never dated any of those pricks, though. She said if any of them would leave a sweet and wonderful person like me, then they would easily do it again to her too. She didn't want me to feel even more hurt by dating any of them," she began to vent. Kakashi didn't say anything, but let her continue until she felt better.

"She's always been there for me. But I get so tired of her pitying me. I was always looking for something more serious. None of them wanted that, they just wanted to have fun, which is why they'd go for Ino. She likes temporary flings, and then moves on. Did you know I've only ever truly loved a man once in my whole life? But I just denied it for the longest time, because I knew it would never work..."

'_She must be talking about when Sasuke left all those years ago..._' he realized, but continued to sit beside her in silence. His heart rate had finally gone back to normal, and he was once again in control of himself. She had been through a lot with Sasuke, and it had taken her years to finally let go of trying to win him over. No matter what she had said to him, he wouldn't return. It was only by his choice that he had finally decided to come back to the village, and even then, Sakura still felt something towards the Uchiha. He guessed she still loved him deep down, despite the hell he maliciously put her through, but kept it hidden because nothing would change him.

Almost as a reflex, Kakashi wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her against him. He felt her stiffen in surprise at the unexpected comfort he was giving her, but then she relaxed and leaned her head against his chest. He hated how much she was still hurting after all these years, and he understood that pain and guilt well, since he had lived with his for most of his life.

"I just want to be seen for more than what is on the outside. I want to be loved for who I am, but in a way that's more than how my friends love me..."

"You're still young, Sakura," Kakashi squeezed her arm, trying to distract her from where the topic could possibly be heading. "There are plenty of men your age or older who would die to be with you. You just have to know where to look."

"That's the problem..." she sniffed. "No matter where I look, even when I'm looking in the right direction, things still just... don't go right." Her shoulders slumped.

"Which is why I don't bother with relationships," he told her matter-of-factly. She looked up at him in surprise. "Things get too complicated, or things just don't work out. People get hurt, and so far I haven't found anyone worth going through that for."

Sakura looked hurt by his words for some reason, but he had simply told her why he chose to stay away from serious relationships. He quickly tried to amend whatever had upset her.

"But..." she glanced up at him through watery eyes. "That doesn't mean I won't _ever_ find somebody. And the same thing goes for you. Hell Sakura, you're one of the most attractive people in Konoha, inside and out. I have no doubt someone will come along who will be there for you through everything. He'll give you the respect you deserve and treat you right, he'll try to make you laugh and smile every day, and he'll love all of you for who you are, including all your good points and all your flaws."

Sakura stared at him; completely speechless and looking more sober than she had all night. Kakashi wasn't one to really go out of his way to say stuff like that, or even offer a hug of comfort. He was usually distant and avoided crying women because he didn't know how to deal with them. Even Sakura, who was as a drunk as a lord, was amazed and touched by his unexpected kindness. Fresh tears began to roll down her cheeks all over again, and Kakashi frantically mothered over her in confusion.

"Sakura? Did I say something? I'm sorry if I upset you-"

"Shut up, you idiot," she smiled and wiped away her tears furiously. "I'm not upset. I'm just impressed, is all. I didn't think _you _could say things like that."

"Yeah, well," Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly before standing up from the bed. "I guess I'm full of surprises."

All of a sudden, Sakura stood up, on the very tips of her toes, and gave Kakashi a soft, lingering peck on the cheek. Stunned, he simply stared at her as she crawled into bed.

"Thank you, Kakashi... you've been really sweet this evening," she yawned sleepily. Kakashi remained frozen on the spot for another five minutes, shocked at the affectionate gesture. He felt his face grow a little warm before he realized Sakura had already passed out. Her breathing was slow and even, and she had finally stopped crying. Drained, Kakashi slumped against a wall and ran his fingers through his messy hair.

So much had happened to him tonight, all because he had decided to play the gentleman and take Sakura safely to her home. Was that really a reason for him to have been tormented by whatever gods were laughing at him right now? Even he could only restrain himself so much before something tipped the kettle a little too far.

He quietly stepped over to her, watching her eyelids move as she dreamed. He ran a hand through his hair again; acutely aware of how impossible it was going to be for him to avoid her or ignore his feelings around her from now on. He reached down and gently ran his fingers through some loose strands of her sweet-smelling, cherry blossom hair. Then he pulled away slowly, letting it fall between his fingers and back onto her pillow. He grabbed the covers and pulled them over her bare legs all the way up to her shoulders. She smiled in her sleep for a moment before resuming her peaceful expression.

After tucking her in, Kakashi shoved his hands into his pockets and turned to leave her room. Before he stepped through the doorway, however, he stopped and turned back around. He grabbed a piece of paper and a pen on her night stand and wrote down a little message. He looked at her again after he finished, memorizing her pretty, sleeping face before leaving her apartment.

Once he returned to his own, he stripped out of everything he was wearing and stepped into the shower, not bothering to paying attention to whether the water was hot or cold.

After five minutes, he stepped out and quickly dried himself off with a towel. He grabbed a clean black tank top with attached mask and some gray boxers, slipping them on before falling onto his own bed and letting sleep take over. And, to his credit, he managed to not dream about anything dirty about his ex-student for the rest of the night.

* * *

Sunlight shone through the open window, and Sakura hissed when she turned over and it hit her eyes dead on. She scurried under the covers, avoiding the light that made her head hurt worse than it already did. After a good amount of time passed, she slid out from the blanket and sat up, holding her head in her hands.

"Oh man... hangovers are the fucking worst..." she groaned. She took her time getting out of bed, not going too fast so her head would hurt less. She was about to go and grab some aspirin to help the pain when she spotted a blue piece of paper on her usually empty night stand. She picked it up and read it several times before she could make out the nearly illegible message.

_Sakura,_

_I doubt you remember anything from last night, so I just wanted to let you know I took you home. Ino tried, but you passed out on her, so I offered to help. _

_Don't count on my assistance if you ever have that much to drink again. _

_As punishment for the burden you so generously shouldered on me last night, I will be waiting at training grounds three until nine-thirty for some rigorous sparring. If you don't show up by then, I'm coming to retrieve you myself. _

_And I'll be sure to make as much noise as possible if I do._

_Kakashi_

"Kakashi brought me home last night?!" Sakura exclaimed, falling back onto the bed. Her face was red with embarrassment as she read the same line over and over again.

_Don't count on my assistance if you ever have that much to drink again._

What on earth had she done last night? She couldn't remember anything! The stress was starting to make her head pound excruciatingly again. Suddenly, her stomach lurched and she had to rush to the toilet. Her gut hurt from emptying the contents of last night's binge, and she quickly rinsed her mouth and brushed her teeth afterward.

Once her mouth eventually tasted of mint toothpaste only, she dug around in her dresser for some aspirin. She grabbed it and swallowed several before placing the bottle back in the drawer. That's when she noticed her favorite pair of baby blue, lacy panties was missing from its usual spot. She stared at the place she usually kept it, too confused and grumpy to try and solve the mystery.

A painfully loud knock suddenly rang from her balcony glass door. She groaned and walked over to it, pulling away the sheer curtains to find a silver-haired shinobi smiling at her from the other side, perched on her balcony railing. She glared at him for a really long time before she finally unlocked the door and slid it open. He raised his hand in a salute.

"Yo!"

"Agh!" Sakura covered her ears as she began to walk back towards her bed. "Not so loud, you bastard!"

"That's no way to speak the man who saved you from the prying hands of dirty men who would have taken advantage of you in your drunken stupor last night," he hopped off the railing and entered into her room. She grabbed the note and held it to his face.

"You never mentioned anything about that. You said you offered to help take me home since I passed out on Ino."

"Details, details," he waved it off. Sakura continued to glower at him murderously.

"If you don't mind, then," she turned and began to head back to her bed. "I need to catch some more beauty sleep."

"Trust me; you were anything but that when you passed out last night."

Sakura turned and glared icy daggers at him. He simply grinned mischievously at her.

"You want to try me on that again, Kakashi-sensei?"

"I said hurry up and get changed, Sakura-_chan_," he pointed at her, raising his voice on purpose. "I'm taking you to go sparring right now."

"My head hurts like hell," she whined. "Don't shout, I have a fucking bad hangover."

"Language, Sakura," Kakashi continued to smirk and talk loudly. She wanted to punch him out her window.

"If you stop shouting, maybe I'll think about it."

"If you didn't drink so much last night, you wouldn't have such a 'fucking bad hangover'." He mocked the way she had said it only a minute ago. "Now hurry up, or I'll make you come with me wearing... that," he looked away, trying to respect her privacy. Right then, Sakura looked down and realized she wasn't wearing pants. She shrieked and ran into the bathroom, shouting at him from the other side of the door.

"You pervert! You didn't say anything this whole time!?"

"I didn't want to interrupt! Besides, you didn't seem to have a problem with it last night!" he shouted back, instantly regretting the words the moment they left his mouth. Sakura was silent and instantly curious as to what her old sensei had just said.

"What is that supposed to mean?" She asked, her voice slightly muffled through the door.

"..." Kakashi didn't reply, but instead walked over and took a seat in a comfy-looking chair in the corner of her room.

"Kakashi?"

"Nothing. Just hurry your ass up so we can go. It's already ten o'clock."

She knew what that tone meant. She wasn't going to get any answers out of him until she was ready to go. Turning on the shower until it was hot, she wondered what Kakashi wasn't telling her, and she wondered if it was something she should be worried about. She stepped in and scrubbed her hair faster than she ever had in her entire life.

(~)

They were flying through the trees, and Sakura was having a hard time keeping up with his speed. Her stamina was really low, thanks to the hangover she was still getting over, but that didn't stop Kakashi from pushing her buttons.

"Keep up, you're a shinobi. Even in the worst of circumstances, you can't give yourself an excuse to slow down."

"We aren't even outside of Konoha," she griped. "We're not even at the training grounds yet!"

"That isn't an excuse to let your guard down, Sakura," he scolded. She hated it when he talked to her like she was still a little Genin. She was a Jounin, damnit! And she was twenty-two years old! She knew she was being sort of bratty about her head hurting, but all she wanted to do was sleep it off. Hangovers were her worst enemy. She decided to remain silent the rest of the way there, not bothering to complain or argue with him anymore.

They were almost there when she spotted something lacy and blue sticking out of his shuriken pouch. She immediately sent chakra to the soles of her feet and lept towards him. Kakashi hadn't been expecting her sudden burst of energy and ended up falling off of the tree and onto the grassy field below from her tackle. He propped himself up on his elbows and looked up at Sakura in surprise.

"What the hell?" he asked, then noticed the baby blue panties she held up in her hand. No words could fully describe the way she looked like she wanted to murderously rip him to shreds in that second. He stood up and waved his hands defensively in front of him.

"Now, now Sakura. I planned on returning them to you, I just figured you owed me a token of appreciation after I helped you last night."

That, apparently, had been the wrong thing to say. Kakashi gulped after he unintentionally added fuel to the fire burning in her eyes.

"You know what?" Sakura said a little too calmly. "Let's play a little game, sensei. You hide for your life, and I hunt you down and end it for you."

"That sounds a little extreme for a game of tag, don't you think?" he rubbed the back of his neck nervously and took a few steps back.

"Nope! That sounds like a perfect way to end my already-shitty morning. How about it? You have five seconds."

"Sakura, let's talk about this-"

"Five," she held up her fingers and grinned at him wickedly. Kakashi sighed.

"You're really going to do this, aren't you?"

"Four," she put one finger down. "Three." Another finger went down.

"Sakura, come on." Kakashi said seriously now.

"Two."

"Fine." With a poof of smoke, he was gone.

"One. Ready or not, here I come you perverted bastard!" Sakura shouted across the training field. She was hoping her little insult would make him retort one back, but he was smart not to do so, since she was seriously intent on injuring him once she found him.

He had dragged her out here against her will, so she was going to wear him out with all she had during their spar session. He stole a pair of her panties and hid them in his pouch, and very obviously lied when he said he planned to return them, so that deserved a few broken bones. He wasn't planning on telling her about last night, which she was dying to know about, so she figured that earned at least a black eye and bloody nose.

"This is going to be fun," she purred angrily before smashing her fist into the ground, making it explode and shatter into hundreds of pieces around her.

* * *

**Author's notes! :)**

Go ahead and please leave a **review** to let me know what you thought of chapter four! :) Sorry again for taking so long to get it up. College course sign-ups were going on too, so I've just been kinda busy. Anyways, thank you so much for reading! Love you all! :B

~BountyKress


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